Roger Arnebergh (August 17, 1909 – January 25, 2004) was an American
attorney and elected official. He served as
Los Angeles City Attorney
The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the city of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor violations. The Los Angeles County District Attorney prosecutes felonies. The city attorne ...
from 1953 to 1973.
Early life
Roger Arneberg was born in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
. He was the son of Targe Arnebergh and Amelia Graagaard, who were of Norwegian and Danish ancestry. Although he dropped out of high school at the age of fifteen, he received a law degree through extension learning.
Career
Arnebergh won the election for Los Angeles City Attorney in 1953 because he was supported by
Ray L. Chesebro, who was retiring. He would be re-elected five times with little opposition. Throughout his 20 years as city attorney, Arneburgh usually ran unopposed. However in 1973, Burt Pines and
Ira Reiner
Ira Kenneth Reiner (born February 15, 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Los Angeles City Attorney from 1981 to 1984 and Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1984 to 1992. The McMartin preschool trial occurred dur ...
both ran for the office against Arneburgh. He was then forced into a runoff against
Burt Pines, who won by 58%. During those 20 years in office, Arnebergh led a department that increased from 76 to 185 lawyers and was widely praised for his fair handling of disputes among city departments and his enforcement of misdemeanors. After 1973, Arnebergh practiced law privately in
Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
. He was briefly in the limelight in 1991, as part of Citizens for Integrity and Viability in the City Charter, which supported former Police Chief
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of William H. Parker. As Chief ...
, and was against changes in the selection, removal and tenure of future police chiefs.
Personal life
Arnebergh married Emilie Katherine Rogers (1908–2009), on May 1, 1937. They had one child. Arnebergh died on January 25, 2004.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnebergh, Roger
1909 births
2004 deaths
American people of Danish descent
American people of Norwegian descent
Los Angeles City Attorneys
People from Greater Los Angeles
Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American lawyers