Guy Vernon Bennett
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Guy Vernon Bennett (February 17, 1880 – July 31, 1968) was superintendent of schools in
Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...
, a professor of education at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, and a Los Angeles city councilman from the 10th District from 1935 to 1951. He was defeated for reelection after seventeen years in office in the wake of his arrest on a morals charge. He was a Democrat.


Biography

Bennett was born in Waverly, Iowa, on February 17, 1880. He had five siblings, Edward Allen Bennett of Los Angeles, Richard Bennett of Tacoma, Washington, Belle Campbell of Guelph, Ontario, Zellia Campbell of Los Angeles and William M. Bennett.Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials: 1850–1938, compiled under direction of the Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles, March 1938 (reprinted 1966) Bennett was married and had at least one son."New Superintendent: Pomona's School Head Arrives to Take Charge," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 31, 1914, page II-8
/ref> He was a Kiwanian. While a city councilman, Bennett, then 65, was taken into custody in
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
on October 2, 1950, by two police officers who "took a statement from him at the Highland Park Police Station." A complaint was later issued by the city attorney's office "charging two morals counts." Bennett pleaded guilty to
disturbing the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...
," and a charge of lewd vagrancy was dismissed "in the interests of justice." He paid a fine of $100. Bennett, who was then living in
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
, died July 31, 1968, at the age of 88.


Educational career

Bennett was working in Gridley, California, before taking up his position as superintendent of schools in
Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...
in July 1914, replacing the retiring schools chief, W.P. Murphy. Near the end of his first school year, he responded to a statement by the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
President Benjamin Ide Wheeler, who had declared vocational training to be "an attempt at aristocracy to keep children of the laborer in the working class so they couldn't better themselves.""Useful Trade Best Defense," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 10, 1915, page II-9
/ref> Bennett said:
That sort of talk is bosh. ... If teaching boys how to do interior decorating, plumbing, lathe work and cabinet-making and teaching girls how to make hats and dresses and custard pies is an aristocratic attempt to tie a millstone around the neck of genius, then let us become more aristocratic. If we can keep the boys and girls off the street and reduce the number of street-corner loafers by teaching some useful trades in our schools I think it is our duty to do so.
Bennett ordained an anti-slang week in April 1915 and ordered that anybody who used
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...
in Pomona schools be penalized. "I'd like to eliminate such phrases as 'hand somebody a lemon,' 'cut it out,' 'the once-over,' and a lot of similar expressions," he said."Ods Bodkins, Me Lad, Desist Thy Slanging," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 26, 1915, page II-6
/ref> In 1919 he was appointed head of the local office of the Federal Board for Vocational Education, an agency that retrained returning U.S. servicemen. In October 1920, Bennett and Nicholas Ricciardi, director of the vocational office in San Francisco, were attacked by the James B. Gresham Post No. 3,
Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...
, for, among other things, "repressive measures." A statement charged Bennett with being "out of harmony with every man engaged in Federal board work in this city." Bennett, who held a doctorate of philosophy, was hired to be an
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
of education at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, effective in the fall semester, 1926.


Political career

1934–35
Bennett attempted a run for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1934 but lost. In February 1935, still a college professor and living at 3017-1/2 Hoover, he took out a nomination petition for the City Council seat in the 10th District, campaigning against the incumbent,
E. Snapper Ingram Ebenezer Snapper Ingram (December 8, 1884 – April 19, 1966) was a Los Angeles City Council member representing the Los Angeles City Council District 10, 10th District from 1927 until 1935. Biography Ingram was born on December 8, 1884, to Samu ...
. Bennett was supported by the End Poverty in California movement (EPIC) and opposed by the ''Los Angeles Times.'' Other candidates in the 10th District primaries were Lenna G. Walradt, a lecturer; Allan M. Rose, employed by the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
, Karl Euper, "in the insurance and real estate business," and Austin L. Tournoux, "in the publishing business"; he had been a member 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 ...
in 1933. Bennett received 5,974 votes to Ingram's 5,810, and they faced each other in the finals. In that race, Bennett won by a vote of 8,794 to 8,064. 1937
In 1937 Bennett ran as an incumbent against George McLain but without the support of EPIC. He won in the primary, 8,065 to 5,306. 1938–39
He lost in another bid for state superintendent of public instruction in 1938. Bennett was known for supporting "liberal" measures in the city council and had the support of Mayor
Fletcher Bowron Fletcher Bowron (August 13, 1887 – September 11, 1968) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the 35th mayor of Los Angeles, California, from September 26, 1938, until June 30, 1953. He was at the time the city's longest-serving ...
and activist
Clifford Clinton Clifford E. Clinton (August 3, 1900 – November 20, 1969) was a California restaurateur who founded Meals for Millions, one of two parent organizations of Freedom from Hunger, in 1946. In 1905, Clifford Clinton traveled to China (for the firs ...
; he was concentrating on issues of
slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
and supported the thirty dollars every Thursday movement. He was the only council member to vote against an April 1939 resolution urging the Dies Committee on Un-American Activities to investigate Communist influence in Los Angeles "as soon as possible." That month he won in the primary election, 9,526 votes to 2,192 for Willard E. Badham, 1,620 for Solly F. Smith and 804 for Allan M. Rose. 1941
In 1941, Bennett faced S. Frederic Smith (the ''Times'' choice) and Mary A. Van Dame. Bennett won, 9,287 votes against 3,806 for Smith and 1,071 for Van Dame. By that time, Bennett had joined the "anti-Bowron bloc," and when the city council was reorganized in July, he was elected president of the council by a vote of 9 to 6, replacing
Robert L. Burns Robert Louis Burns (January 12, 1876 – March 17, 1955) was an American politician, attorney, and businessman who served as a member of the Los Angeles school board from 1923 to 1929 and the Los Angeles City Council from 1929 to 1945. At the tim ...
. As council president, he became acting mayor when Bowron was out of town. 1942–43
Bennett was elected chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee in September 1942, unseating Claude L. Welch. In late 1941, political reformer Clifford E. Clinton had accused Bennett, with other councilmen, of having misused city automobiles, asking for a grand jury investigation. The issue resurfaced in 1943, an election year, when Council Member
Parley P. Christensen Parley Parker Christensen (July 19, 1869 – February 10, 1954) was an American attorney and politician who was a Utah House of Representatives, Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presiden ...
accused Bennett of having used a city automobile for an "unauthorized and illegal" trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1937 and on his return, "presenting the city with a bill for gasoline and oil." Bennett denied the charge. In the 1943 election, Bennett was endorsed by the ''Times,'' which said that "Although inclined when first elected toward ultra-liberal views, years of practical experience have tempered Bennett's convictions." Bennett won the election in the primary, 5,510 votes to 3,718 for Vernon Kilpatrick and 1,573 for George W. Barnard. 1944–1945
Bennett made news in January 1944 when he urged that a woman be appointed to a vacancy on the Water and Power Commission, though "he had no particular person in mind." He was re-elected at the primary in April 1945 by 12,207 votes to 2,327 for William L. Biber, a "well-to-do used-car lot owner taking his first fling at politics." Bennett was endorsed by the ''Times.'' 1947–1949
The 1947 election was highlighted by a ''Los Angeles Times'' attack on Bennett's championing of a police union, but despite that and an accusation that he had appeared "as the supporter of radical movements or legislation." the ''Times'' endorsed him over his opponents — Bertrand R. Bratton, a
certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
, and Charles Downs, a
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who had been a City Council member in 1925 but was removed from office that year upon conviction of receiving a bribe from a developer. Bennett won in the April primary with 12,173 votes to 2,834 for Downs and 1,843 for Bratton (four precincts not reported). Two years later, in 1949, Bennett was reelected without opposition. 1951
In 1951, running in the shadow of a morals charge (above) and deprived of a ''Los Angeles Times'' endorsement, Bennett was defeated for reelection after seventeen years in office. In the primary, he came in third with 3,835 votes, compared to 5,301 for State Assemblyman Vernon Kilpatrick and 5,077 for musician
Charles Navarro Charles Navarro Guarino (January 19, 1904 – September 7, 2005) was a Los Angeles City Council member between 1951 and 1961 and city controller from 1961 to 1977. Biography Navarro was born in New York City to Italian immigrant parents. He was a ...
. Cafe operator George R. Hubbard had 2,250 votes and Charles Downs, running for the last time for his old seat, had 1,423. Bennett sued Navarro on the grounds that the latter "did not give his full name as Charles Navarro Guarino," but the case was dismissed by Superior Judge Joseph W. Vickers. Bennett's last major vote in the council was on June 26, 1951, in favor of federally subsidized housing projects."Council Votes for Low-Rent Housing," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 27, 1951
/ref>


Publications

Books
Sources
Library of Congress Online Catalog
an
Amazon.com
* ''Junior High School,'' 1919, 1926 * ''Debate Questions on U.S. History,'' 1918 * ''A Primer of School Finance,'' before 1923 * ''Problems of the Elementary School Principal,'' 1928 * ''Social Civics,'' 1928 * ''Vocational Education of Junior College Grade,'' 1928 * ''Occupational Exploratory Courses for Junior High School (Grades 7, 8, 9),'' co-editor, 1929 * ''Legalistic Pursuits,'' 1931 * ''Occupational Orientation,'' co-editor, 1931 * ''Exploring the World of Work; a Guidebook to Occupations,'' co-author, 1937 * ''Grant to Eisenhower; Political Giveaways Unlimited,'' 1956 Newspaper article
Gadsden Won His Purchase, But His Railroad Waited," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 15, 1953, page A-5


References

Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links requires the use of a library card.


External links

*
1942 ''Herald-Examiner'' photo of Bennett buying war bonds
---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, G. Vernon Presidents of the Los Angeles City Council 1880 births 1968 deaths California Democrats People from Waverly, Iowa 20th-century American politicians People from Gridley, California California politicians convicted of crimes