Joseph Emmanuel Tinney (April 24, 1910May 13, 2006)"JOSEPH TINNEY (1910-2006)", SSDI
/ref> was an American attorney and politician from San Francisco. A Republican, a member of the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

, and then San Francisco city

assessor An assessor may be: * ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes * Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate * Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford * Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...

, "Tinney's integrity was so unquestioned that

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 ...

from both parties -- Republican George Christopher and

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Shelley -- appointed him to the city posts, and Democratic political leaders played key roles in his re-election campaigns."Marianne Costantinou
Joseph E. Tinney - politician held in high regard
(May 17, 2006), ''San Francisco Chronicle''.

Biography

Tinney was the youngest of seven children born to Irish immigrant parents. His father was a teamster and then a

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

gripman who worked the night shift. He grew up in

Bernal Heights Bernal Heights ( ) is a residential neighborhood in southeastern San Francisco, California. The prominent Bernal Heights hill overlooks the San Francisco skyline and features a microwave transmission tower. The nearby Sutro Tower can be seen from ...

and the

Outer Mission Outer Mission is a small residential neighborhood on the south edge of San Francisco, bounded by Geneva Avenue (on the northeast), Interstate 280 (on the northwest), Mission Street (on the southwest), and the city of Daly City (on the south). ...

. Tinney was an excellent student who graduated from St. Ignatius High School as valedictorian in 1927. He graduated from college and law school at the University of San Francisco in six years. Tinney married in 1940 and moved to Merced Manor, but based his law practice in the Mission District and maintained close ties to the neighborhood. Tinney entered politics in the early 1940s as a member of the Republican County Central Committee and the Republican State Central Committee. Later he came a member of the San Francisco Planning Commission, serving for a time as its chair. On March 27, 1961, Mayor George Christopher (who was Tinney's neighbor in Merced Manor) appointed Tinney to fill a vacancy on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors created by the death of a supervisor.San Francisco Board of Supervisors - Tinney, Joseph E.
/ref> Tinney was then elected twice to the Board of Supervisors, in 1962 and 1966. Although supervisors at the time were elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

rather than by district, Tinney was identified with the Mission District. He argued on behalf of the Latino community to have Mission Street closed off to automobiles for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, noting that the street was closed to automobiles for Saint Patrick's Day and Columbus Day celebrations. Considered a fiscal conservative, Tinney nevertheless argued in favor of pay raises for San Francisco Municipal Railway bus drivers in the 1960s. In 1966, Tinney left the Board of Supervisors to become assessor, replacing Russ Wolden, the assessor of 28 years who was convicted of

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

and conspiracy. Tinney reformed the assessor's office, collecting unpaid

back tax Back taxes is a term for taxes that were not completely paid when due. Typically, these are taxes that are owed from a previous year. Causes for back taxes include failure to pay taxes by the deadline, failure to correctly report one's income, or n ...

es, and "although many homeowners and business saw their taxes go up, Mr. Tinney handily won re-election, time and time again, and was one of the biggest vote-getters in the city." Tinney's popularity was such that he considered running for San Francisco mayor or state Senate. Tinney retired from public service and returned to private practice in civil litigation in the Mission District. His wife, the former Helen Elizabeth Frahm, died in 1999, and Tinney retired from law practice in 2000. Tinney died on May 13, 2006, at age 96, from complications from lymphoma. At the time of his death he lived in a home for patients with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in Petaluma. He was survived by a son, Joseph Tinney of Petaluma, a daughter, Marcella Tinney Frank of Windsor in Sonoma County, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinney, Joseph Emmanuel 2006 deaths California lawyers San Francisco Board of Supervisors members University of San Francisco alumni University of San Francisco School of Law alumni 1910 births 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers St. Ignatius College Preparatory alumni