Frank L. Shaw
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Frank L. Shaw (February 1, 1877 – January 24, 1958) was the first mayor of a major American city to be recalled from office, in 1938. He was also a member of the Los Angeles City Council and then the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. His administration was seen as one of the most corrupt in Los Angeles history, although he had some defenders and was never charged officially with any crime.
"Although most historical viewpoints paint Shaw's administration as one of the most corrupt in Los Angeles history, a few historians argue that Shaw was never as corrupt as alleged."
Cecilia Rasmussen, "The City of Angeles Has Had Mayors With Demons," ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 8, 2005, page B-2
". . . he has long been said to have run L.A.'s most corrupt administration."


Biography

Shaw, the son of John D. Shaw and Katherine Roche, was born February 1, 1877, in or near
Warwick, Ontario Warwick is a rural township in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada, with a population (2016) of 3,692. Bisected by the Egremont Road that was surveyed to link London with the Lake Huron shoreline in 1832, the township began to attract settlers inclu ...
. He had a brother, Joseph. The family moved to
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, then Colorado in the late 1880s and Kansas, before settling in Missouri. He went to public schools in Denver and in
Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jas ...
. He studied business and then began clerking in a country store in Joplin and soon became a salesman with the Campbell-Redell Wholesale Grocery Company. He remained in the grocery business for thirty years, except when he was briefly with the Ozark Coal and Railroad Company at
Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
. As a representative of the
Cudahy Packing Company Cudahy Packing Company was an American meat packing company established in 1887 as the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company and incorporated in Maine in 1915.
, Shaw moved to Los Angeles in 1909. In 1919 he joined the Haas-Baruch Company in Los Angeles and left it when he was elected to the city council.''Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820–1980'' and Los Angeles County records, cited at the county website
Los Angeles Public library biography file
Original sources are given in that file.
Frank L. Shaw, Ex-Mayor, Dies, ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 25, 1958, page 1
/ref> Shaw's childhood affliction with
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
left him with a noticeable limp for the rest of his life. He was married to Cora H. Shires on February 5, 1905, in
Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
, and in 1909 the couple moved to Los Angeles. They had no children. She died in 1951 at the age of 68. At age 76, Frank Shaw was secretly married in
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to Dortha Sheehan, age 22, and revealed the fact three years later, in January 1956."Ex-Mayor Frank L. Shaw Reveals Marriage in 1953," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 12, 1956, page 31
/ref> Shaw was a member of the
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is Southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A. County, more than 1,400 member companies and more than 722,430 employ ...
, the United Commercial Travelers of America, the Los Angeles Athletic and Jonathan clubs, the Presbyterian Church, Masonic Temple 320, the
Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...
and the
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,
Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
,
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and
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lodges. He died of cancer on January 24, 1958. His residence then with Dortha was 101 or 108 West 71st Street, in the Florence district. Burial took place in Inglewood Park Cemetery. After Shaw's death, a will leaving all of his estate to Dortha Shaw was contested in court by a group of the former mayor's relatives, led by Shaw's niece, Frances S. Lawrence, and his brother, Joseph. A jury sided with the Lawrence claim that Shaw had been unduly influenced by his new wife, but the verdict was not put into effect because all of the parties later agreed to a settlement.


Public life


City Council

Shaw was a large property owner who was active in the United Commercial Travelers' Association when he filed for the 1925 election in the 8th Council District. He was then living at 110 West 59th Place in the Florence District. He won reelection to two-year terms in 1925 and 1927. District 8 in 1925 included the area south of Washington Street, north of Jefferson on the western side and north of
Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...
on the eastern side, bounded on the east by Alameda Street and the Vernon city line. In 1926 it was described as bounded by 47th Street,
Vermont Avenue Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length betwe ...
,
Florence Avenue Florence Avenue is a major east–west street in central Los Angeles County and South Los Angeles, in Southern California. 150px, The oldest operating McDonald's is on Florence Ave at Lakewood, in Downey, California. Route It is bounded in th ...
and Alameda Street. Both Shaw and Council Member R.S. Sparks raised criticism in advance of the May 1927 primary election when they each sent letters on city stationery to people who were on a tentative list for appointment as election workers asking them to call on the two councilmen to discuss, in the words of Shaw's letter, "several matters which I believe will prove advantageous to you." Shaw denied that he was attempting to influence the prospective workers to influence his candidacy.


Board of Supervisors

Shaw ran for the
Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
in 1928 and easily ousted Supervisor Jack Bean, who had attempted to mock Shaw as "the grocery boy who made good." He was reelected in 1930 and 1932 and was named chairman of the board by his fellow supervisors in 1932 and 1933. On the board he proposed the establishment of a county psychopathic clinic, which he said would be to "keep people out of asylums and prisons, not put them in." He was named chairman of a countywide committee on employment formed to help fight the "present crisis in the unemployment situation," and he proposed that employees in "all governmental departments as well as private business and industry" should be given a five-day week, "or a shorter work day," to meet the situation. In March 1933, Shaw abandoned his previous
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
stand in the battle over Prohibition repeal when he joined a 3-2 majority in deciding to repeal a county ordinance that was even more drastic than the national
Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...
, which controlled the production and sale of liquor throughout the United States.


Mayor

While still a supervisor, Shaw ran for the mayoralty of Los Angeles in 1933 against the incumbent, John C. Porter, and was elected in the final vote, 187,053 to 155,513. During his term, the
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
and the
Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...
storm drain projects were developed by the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
, the Los Angeles Harbor became home base for the Pacific Fleet and the city employees' retirement system was begun.
Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
and the downtown
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were constructed. Meanwhile, though, the corruption in City Hall led to a recall movement against him and his close associates. "Police misconduct and the mayor’s mishandling of public funds forced Shaw from office and led to the election of reform mayor Fletcher Bowron in 1938." He was the first mayor of a major American city to be recalled from office.John R. Babcock, "When Los Angeles Was a World-Class City of Corruption," ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner," May 12, 1989, page A-19
/ref> Previously Mayors
Arthur C. Harper Arthur Cyprian Harper (1866–1948) was the 26th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, from December 13, 1906, to March 11, 1909. He was forced to resign in the wake of a recall drive due to dishonesty that marked his administration. While mayo ...
and Porter had faced recalls; Harper resigned before the date of the scheduled election, and Porter was sustained in office.


Lawsuits

Citizenship A major controversy erupted after Shaw's election as mayor when Charles A. Butler, former secretary of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, filed suit, alleging that Shaw was not a citizen and therefore could not be sworn into office. It developed that Shaw's Canadian-born father had taken out his first
U.S. citizenship 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 ...
papers in Hays City, Kansas, in 1887, but no record could be found of a final disposition. The matter was finally settled on July 24, 1933, when Shaw took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and Butler withdrew his suit."Shaw for Porter," ''Time,'' June 19, 1933
/ref> Warner Bros. Shaw sued
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
in October 1939 for $1 million in damages, alleging he was
defamed Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
in '' The Man Who Dared,'' a motion picture supposedly based on the January 14, 1938 bombing of
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
Harry Raymond while he was sitting in his automobile in the garage of his Los Angeles home. Shaw said the plot "contains a chain of circumstances which leaves the unmistakeable impression" that it was a "fictionalized version of the Raymond bombing." He said the film depicts him, Shaw, as having ordered his police aides to plant the bomb that severely injured a private investigator named Harry. The studio replied that the events were fictional and could have happened in any American city. The suit was
settled out of court In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
in February 1941, with both sides agreeing there would be no statement as to the terms. Bombing Raymond, the real victim of the bombing, sued Shaw and 14 other former civic leaders and police officials in June 1940. Raymond said Shaw owed him $500 from a $30,000 out-of-court settlement that had previously been reached over the incident. Shaw issued an "indignant denial" that he had ever "negotiated or paid any portion" of Raymond's suit against him. Libel Two 1942 lawsuits by Shaw charging
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and others with libel in the publication of articles in 1939 about his administration in ''
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
'' magazine were settled out of court after the trial of one of them resulted in a
hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. ...
. The first article, "The Lid Off Los Angeles," ran in installments beginning November 11, 1939, and included the statement:
Until the boodling Shaw machine was handed its hat and a decent and unfettered man was elected Mayor in September, 1938, the city of Los Angeles for 20 years had been, almost uninterruptedly, run by an underworld government invisible to the average citizen.
The second article was said to have been based on material furnished by the wife of anti-vice crusader
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 ...
under the title "My Husband's Death Struggle With the Vice Czars of Los Angeles.""Shaw and Clinton Litigation Ended," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 29, 1943, page A-2
/ref> At the same time the Shaw suits were settled, a claim by Clifford Clinton against Shaw was also laid to rest. Clinton had sued Shaw for libel in having claimed that he, Clinton, had taken "large sums of money from questionable sources for use in the 1938 recall campaign against Shaw." The exact terms of the settlements were not disclosed. Oil lease In 1951, Shaw lost a suit for damages he filed against Paul R. Ritter, a former business partner, concerning an oil lease in the
Cuyama Valley The Cuyama Valley (Chumash: ''Kuyam'', meaning "Clam") is a valley along the Cuyama River in central California, in northern Santa Barbara, southern San Luis Obispo, southwestern Kern, and northwestern Ventura counties. It is about two hours ...
in
Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
. Ritter had been Shaw's manager in the 1933 campaign for mayor and was later appointed by Shaw as president of the city's Board of Public Works."Shaw Loses Suit Over Oil Lease Profits," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 28, 1951, page A-2
/ref>


References

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External links

*


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Frank L. Mayors of Los Angeles 1877 births 1957 deaths Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Recalled American mayors 20th-century American politicians California Republicans