James Kanno (December 22, 1925 – July 15, 2017) served as the first mayor of

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. Europea ...

from 1957 to 1962. He was one of the first mayors of Asian descent in the United States.

Biography

Kanno was born in an unincorporated part of California's

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

on December 22, 1925. His parents were immigrants from Japan's

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

. Kanno attended

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Original members of the surf band The Chantays * Barry Asher, professional bowler * Ton ...

but, following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

, was sent with his family to the

Poston War Relocation Center The Poston Internment Camp, located in Yuma County (now in La Paz County) in southwestern Arizona, was the largest (in terms of area) of the ten American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The sit ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

during World War II before he could graduate. After leaving camp, Kanno attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

for a year before returning to California. In 1949, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and minor in agricultural engineering from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. That same year, Kanno and his father and brother purchased some acreage in the Fountain Valley area and began farming. In the 1950s, Kanno served on a committee to incorporate what was then known as the Talbert area farmland into a new city. The push to incorporate was in response to developers who were buying farm land in the region. Kanno was a member of Orange County's Fountain Valley's inaugural city council and became its first mayor in 1957. As one of the country's first Asian American mayors, Kanno's election received some national attention including a positive writeup in U.S. News & World Report and an interview from

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. Kanno served as Fountain Valley's mayor from 1957 to 1962, and helped in the establishment of the city's

Mile Square Regional Park Mile Square Regional Park is a park located in Fountain Valley, California, United States. It includes two lakes, three 18-hole golf courses, archery range, baseball and softball fields, picnic shelters, and a urban nature area planted with Califor ...

. After leaving the Fountain Valley city council, Kanno served as chairman of the Historical and Cultural Foundation of Orange County’s Japanese American Council and would speak about his internment camp experience at local schools. Kanno died in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

in 2017 following a fall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanno, James 1925 births 2017 deaths Japanese-American internees University of California, Los Angeles alumni American farmers of Japanese descent Asian-American city council members California city council members 20th-century American politicians American mayors of Japanese descent American politicians of Japanese descent Mayors of places in California California politicians of Japanese descent