C. Lemoine Blanchard (October 16, 1910 – August 13, 1986) was a businessman who was a member of the
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California.
The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...
from 1959 until 1963 and a board member of the national
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
.
Biography
Blanchard was born on October 16, 1910, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe W. Blanchard, Sr. He was brought to the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
when he was a year old, was educated locally and, after graduating from high school, he joined his father's
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
firm, Blanchard Lumber Company, of which he later became owner. He was a "lifelong supporter" of the East Valley
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
and president of the North Hollywood
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...
and the Al Malaikah
Shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
Temple.
["Lemoine Blanchard 2nd District," ''El Pueblo,'' August 25, 1961, in Los Angeles Public Library reference file]
/ref>["Funeral Announcements," ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 15, 1986, page 2]
/ref> In 1967 he was named to the national board of the YMCA.
He died August 13, 1986, in North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
. He was survived by his wife, Frances; two children, Carol Sanders and Ross Lemoine Blanchard; a brother, Roscoe W. Blanchard, Jr., and two sisters, Dorothy Camp and Maude Humm. Funeral services were held in the First Christian Church of North Hollywood.[
]
Public life
Los Angeles County
Blanchard was a member of the Los Angeles County Housing Authority for fifteen years until elected to the city council in 1959.[
]
City Council
Elections
In the 1950s, Los Angeles City Council District 2
Los Angeles City Council District 2 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. The 2nd District began its existence in the Hollywood area but now covers much of the far eastern and southeastern portions of the San Fernando Valle ...
covered Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
and a "sizable portion" of the San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
, generally west of Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...
and extending north to Encino.
Blanchard ran for election there in 1959, and he ousted incumbent Earle D. Baker in the final vote. The next year, the 2nd District was divested of its Hollywood area, which was instead attached to the 13th District. Blanchard was defeated for reelection in 1963 by challenger James B. Potter, Jr.
James B. Potter Jr. (born October 21, 1931) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1963 to 1971. A sales manager for a tool company, when elected to the City Council he became its youngest member at age 31. He was defeated in 1971 amid c ...
: Mayor Sam Yorty
Samuel William Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was an American radio host, attorney, and politician from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, ...
supported Potter and opposed Blanchard.["The City Elections," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 7, 1963, page 5](_blank)
/ref>
Highlights
Blanchard was described as an "arch-foe" of Mayor Sam Yorty
Samuel William Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was an American radio host, attorney, and politician from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, ...
.["Blanchard Put on Airport Board by 9-6 Council Vote," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 17, 1963, page A-1]
/ref> Some highlights of Blanchard's term on the City Council:
Zoo, 1959. He voted in favor of a contract with a nonprofit organization called Friends of the Zoo to operate a "Los Angeles world zoo" for fifty years, at the end of which time the Friends would turn it over to the city.
Monorail, 1962. Blanchard urged the city council to recognize "in principle" the concept of monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
to serve Los Angeles. He had just returned from a visit to Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, to inspect the Alweg
Alweg was a transportation company based in Germany known for pioneering straddle-beam monorails.
History
Alweg was founded by Swedish industrial magnate Dr. Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren in January 1953 as Alweg-Forschung, GmbH (Alweg Research Cor ...
Seattle Center Monorail
The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated straddle-beam monorail line in Seattle, Washington, United States. The monorail runs along 5th Avenue between Seattle Center and Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle, making no intermediate stops. ...
system there. He suggested appointment of "an outstanding Los Angeles civic leader" to serve as a negotiator in the council's dealings with the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Housing, 1962. He called on the council to oppose a state ballot proposition that would give the city Housing Authority permission to build homes for the aged and physically handicapped. He described it as "another scheme to establish state-financed public housing in California."
Control, 1962. He proposed a plan to eliminate citizens commissions that had control over municipal departments, thereby increasing the power of the city council at the expense of the mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
, who appointed the commission members.
Congress
Blanchard was the Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate for the U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
in November 1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
. He lost by a slight margin to fellow councilman James C. Corman
James Charles Corman (October 20, 1920 – December 30, 2000) was an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1957 to 1961 and as a member of the United States House of Representatives between 1961 and 1981. ...
, a Democrat, 48.9% to 51.1%.
Airport Commission
In an "anti-Yorty act," Blanchard was appointed to the Los Angeles Airport Commission by City Council President L.E. Timberlake
Leonard E. "Lee" Timberlake (1896–1973) was a British-born American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1969. Before entering politics, Timberlake was a railroad employee and travel bureau owner.
Biog ...
. who was acting mayor while Mayor Yorty was out of town on a European trip. The council confirmed the appointment by a 9–6 vote, leaving the mayor "furious" and promising to stop the appointment on his return.[ The action, however, was ruled legal by City Attorney Roger Arnebergh."Blanchard's Airport Job Upheld by City Attorney," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 18, 1963, page A-1]
/ref>
References
Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links may require the use of a library card.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, C. Lemoine
1910 births
1986 deaths
Los Angeles City Council members
California Republicans
20th-century American politicians
YMCA leaders