Harriett Davenport (1894 – July 23, 1976) was an American politician who served on the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...

for the 12th district from 1953 to 1955 after

Ed J. Davenport Edward J. Davenport (February 9, 1899 – June 24, 1953) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the 12th district from 1945 to 1953. Elected as a liberal Democrat, he became a staunch conservative anti-communist ...

's death. She was appointed by the City Council and served for a brief time before retiring due to her sister's ill health.

Personal life

Davenport was born Harriett Goodmanson in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, was brought to the United States when she was less than a year old and became a

U.S. citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

through the citizenship of her father. She attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Bellingham, Washington, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. She taught high school for four years in Chehalis, Washington."Davenport Widow Gets Council Seat,"''Los Angeles Times,'' September 2, 1953, page 1
/ref> She and

were married in August 1935 in Seattle, Washington. They had no children. After retiring, Davenport back moved to

Whatcom County, Washington Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan Coun ...

and died on July 23, 1976.

Civic activities

Harriett Davenport "took some part" in the Small Property Owners' League, in Pro America and in groups of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Elections

Appointment

In a unanimous vote by the City Council, Harriett Davenport was appointed to the 12th District seat on September 1, 1953, two months after her husband's death, the term to last until June 30, 1955. There were two other leading contenders for the council vacancy, Ransom M. Callicott, restaurant executive, and Geraldine Hadsell, minute clerk for the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

, but Mrs. Davenport gained a majority of City Council votes in a closed caucus, and the vote was made unanimous later the same day. It was the first of two times that a wife succeeded her husband to a councilmanic seat, the second occurring in 1975, when

Peggy Stevenson Peggy Stevenson (January 29, 1924 – October 16, 2014) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the District 13 from 1975 to 1985. The wife of Robert J. Stevenson, she was elected after her husband's death in 1975 ...

took over from Robert J. Stevenson after his death. Harriett Davenport was the third female council member, after

Estelle Lawton Lindsey Estelle Lawton Lindsey (c. 1868 – 1955) was a 20th-century journalist who was also the first female City Council member in Los Angeles, California, (1915–17) the first woman to preside over the City Council there and the first woman to act a ...

(elected 1915) and

Rosalind Wiener Wyman Rosalind Wiener Wyman (October 4, 1930 – October 26, 2022) was an American politician, Los Angeles City Councilmember, and California Democratic political figure who, at 22 years old, was the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles Ci ...

(elected May 1953). In 1954 she announced she would not run for election the next year because of the ill health of her sister. She was later appointed by Mayor

Norris Poulson Charles Norris Poulson (July 23, 1895 – September 25, 1982) was an American politician who represented Southern California in public office at the local, state, and federal levels. He served as the 36th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from ...

to the city's Fire and Police Pension Commission.

Positions

Harriett Davenport

1953, policies. Asked by a reporter after her election what her stand on policies would be, she replied, "I stand where my husband stood, and I will check his voting record as a guide." 1955, salaries. She urged passage of a charter amendment raising council pay, stating that the then-current salary of $600 a month was "nowhere near adequate, equitable or reasonable" and that "The pressure on the councilman never ends. His days consist of tensions, stormy sessions and forced decisions.""Mrs. Davenport Urges Pay Raise for Council," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 10, 1955, page 17
/ref>

References

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Harriett Los Angeles City Council members Bellingham High School (Washington) alumni 20th-century American politicians 1894 births 1976 deaths