Lionel B. Cade (August 14, 1918 – April 3, 1990) was an American accountant who served as mayor of

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

, from 1977 until 1981.

Biography

Cade was born in

Hardin County, Texas Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,231. The county seat is Kountze. The county is named for the family of William Hardin from Liberty County, Texas. Hardi ...

, on August 14, 1918, the son of Charley and Virginia (Slocum) Cade. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was a member of the U.S. Army's first black paratroop battalion, the 555th. He also served his country during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Cade earned a bachelor's degree at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

and a master's from

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. When the Rev. Raul Imschweiler did not seek re-election to the Compton City Council in 1961, Cade ran for his seat. He lost to Robert Kerr by just 413 votes. In 1964, he was appointed to the Council, one of the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s to serve there. He was elected to a four-year term the following year and reelected in 1969. He was a member of the council until 1973, when he made his first attempt as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 of a mayor as well a ...

. He finished third. Despite that defeat, he was successful on his second try in 1977. An

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

by profession, Cade ordered an audit of the city's finances soon after he took office. He discovered that the city had a deficit of $2 million. As a result of that finding, Cade initiated a series of cost-cutting measures that wiped out the debt within one year. In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved

Proposition 13 Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. The initiative was approved by California voters on J ...

, an initiative that severely reduced property tax revenues. Since much of the fat was already eliminated from Compton's budget, it was one of the hardest hit by the measure. In his 1981 reelection campaign, Cade was soundly defeated by his opponent, Walter R. Tucker, Jr., a local dentist. Cade later moved to Stockton, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Death

Cade died on April 3, 1990, from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

References

Sources

*''Los Angeles Times'', "Former Councilman and Mayor Lionel Cade Dies," April 12, 1990, page J-2. *Miller, Gary J., ''Cities by Contract: The Politics of Municipal Incorporation'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 1981 African-American mayors in California Mayors of Compton, California 1918 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American politicians Compton, California City Council members Deaths from emphysema African-American city council members in California United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics {{California-mayor-stub