Gordon R. Hahn (April 15, 1919 – March 29, 2001) was a member of the
Los Angeles City Council and California State Assembly in the mid-20th Century.
[
While on the council, he cast the decisive vote that brought the ]Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
to Los Angeles and was instrumental in the appointment of Gilbert Lindsay, who became the first African American on the city council.[
His brother, ]Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth Hahn (August 19, 1920 – October 12, 1997) was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil ...
, was Los Angeles County supervisor for 40 years. After Kenneth suffered a stroke in 1987, Gordon was his field deputy until Kenneth retired in 1992.[
]
Biography
Hahn was born in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, the sixth of the seven children of John and Hattie (Wiggins) Hahn. His father died when he was an infant, leaving his mother to raise the large family on a $60-per-month pension.[ She moved the family to a small house on Flower Street in Los Angeles, where his younger brother, Kenneth, was born.][
Hahn worked his way through Pepperdine University, graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and was a Naval Reserve officer during World War II.][
After leaving office, he worked in the real estate business.][ He died of pneumonia caused by respiratory failure on March 29, 2001.][ Hahn was buried in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
]
Political career
Assembly
In 1946, at the age of 27, he was elected as a Republican in the 66th District of the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
, becoming the youngest legislator in a decade.[ He served three and a half terms in the Assembly, from 1947 until his resignation in 1953.
]
City Council
''See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1953 and after.''
Hahn was appointed to fill the Los Angeles City Council District 8 seat vacated by his brother, Kenneth, who had been elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.[ Gordon was elected to the council in his own right after the expiration of his brother's term and served on the council until 1963.][
In 1955 District 8 included an area ". . . bordering on Huntington Park and Vernon, from Vernon Avenue to 94th Street. . . . A considerable percentage of the population is Negro; they hold that their race should have some representation in the City Council. On the other hand, left-wing Democrats, following the banner of Rep. Jimmy Roosevelt, also have a candidate in the race, which may split the Negro vote.""Unusual Setup for Council's Contests," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 3, 1955, page B-2]
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While he was on the council he chaired the Revenue and Taxation Committee.[ During an eight-day smog blanket over Los Angeles in 1954, Hahn told the Associated Press, "this thing has gone far enough, health should come before industry."][
]
Other contests
He ran to represent California's 31st District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962, losing to Democrat Charles H. Wilson
Charles Herbert Wilson (February 15, 1917 – July 21, 1984) was a California Democratic politician from the Los Angeles area. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1981.Ralph Nader, "Charles H. Wilson, Democrat ...
, 48 percent to 52 percent. In 1986, he made an unsuccessful bid for Los Angeles County Assessor
The Los Angeles County Assessor is the assessor and officer of the government of Los Angeles County responsible for discovering all taxable property in Los Angeles County, except for state-assessed property, to inventory and list all the taxable ...
.[
]
See also
* History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
References
External links
*
Join California Gordon Hahn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Gordon
1919 births
2001 deaths
American members of the Churches of Christ
Burials at Riverside National Cemetery
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Los Angeles City Council members
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
People from Kindersley
Pepperdine University alumni
20th-century American politicians
Hahn family
United States Navy personnel of World War II