Kenneth Hahn | |
|---|---|
 Hahn in 1965 | |
| Chair of Los Angeles County | |
| In office December 6, 1977 – December 5, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Baxter Ward |
| Succeeded by | Peter F. Schabarum |
| In office December 4, 1979 – December 2, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Peter F. Schabarum |
| Succeeded by | Edmund D. Edelman |
| Member of theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors from District 2 | |
| In office 1952–1992 | |
| Preceded by | Leonard J. Roach |
| Succeeded by | Yvonne Brathwaite Burke |
| Member of theLos Angeles City Council from the8th district | |
| In office July 1, 1947 – June 15, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Charles A. Allen |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Hahn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-08-19)August 19, 1920 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1997(1997-10-12) (aged 77) Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Inglewood Park Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ramona (Fox) Hahn[1] |
| Children | |
| Residence(s) | Vermont-Slauson district, Los Angeles, California |
| Alma mater | Pepperdine College |
| Occupation | Politician |
Kenneth Frederick Hahn (August 19, 1920 – October 12, 1997) was a member of theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on theLos Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and metMartin Luther King Jr. in 1961.[2]
Hahn was born August 19, 1920, inLos Angeles, the son of Hattie Louise (Wiggins) ofNottawa, Canada, and John Heinrich Hahn. The couple moved from Saskatchewan to Los Angeles in1919, and Hahn's father died just a few months later. The couple had six other sons—Henry, John, Allan, Louis, George, andGordon.[3]
He went to public schools in Los Angeles, including John Muir Junior High School andFremont High School, class of 1938. He graduated fromPepperdine College in 1942. He received a master's degree in education while he was on the City Council. He also had asecondary-school teaching credential.[4][5]
Hahn began his working career as a partner in the Hahn Brothers'Service Station at 6300 South Main Street, at the foot of San Pedro Street in the South Park area. Before World War II he was a messenger for the County Probation Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.[5]
Hahn entered the Navy as anenlisted man in 1942 and earned a commission after studying at naval schools atNorthwestern andNotre Dame universities. He was a ship'spilot inSan Pedro, the youngest pilot in the history of thePort of Los Angeles. He served with theU.S. Seventh Fleet in theSouth Pacific as the commanding officer of asupply ship and was discharged in1946 as alieutenant. After the war, in 1947, he taught American government and history atPepperdine.[5][6]
Hahn's first try for public office was as a candidate for the State Assembly in the 66th District in June 1946. Hahn, a Democrat, won the Republican nomination in the primary election but lost the Democratic nomination, and therefore he could not compete. Instead the Republicans were able to nominate another candidate at aconvention.[7]
Hahn unseatedCharles A. Allen, the incumbent inLos Angeles City Council District 8, in 1947. He was supported by students at Pepperdine College, which at that time was located in the 8th District: they circulated his nominating petitions and did house-to-house campaigning for him. At age 26 he was the youngest person elected to the City Council to that time.[8] He was reelected in 1949 and 1951. In that era, the 8th District was bounded on the north by Vernon Avenue, on the west byWestern Avenue, on the east by the city limits orAlameda Street and on the south by aboutSlauson Avenue.[9]
Hahn left the council on December 1, 1952, when he became a county supervisor.[10]
Jail, 1947. He urged a delay in the building ofa new jail in Lincoln Heights until the council could hear from Assemblyman Vernon Kilpatrick, who declared in a letter that the proposed lockup represented "outmoded thinking concerning jail programs" and suggested that the money be spent for more "sunshine and fresh air" prison camps. His motion failed on a 6–6 vote.[11]
Smog, 1949. The council adopted Hahn's resolution asking Air Pollution Control Director Gordon P. Larson to appear before it to report on the worseningsmog situation in Los Angeles. "The entire smog program seems to have bogged down," he said. "Yesterday it was almost impossible to breathe in my office, and I am informed that some places had to shut down completely."[12]
Feud, 1950. He and CouncilmanHarold Harby engaged in what was called a "feud" over various subjects, including their differences concerning the subject of continuing wartimerent control in Los Angeles, with Hahn favoring and Harby opposing. Harby also called a suggestion by Hahn for a pay raise for city employees "political prostitution in its lowest form."[13] Harby used the same term, calling Hahn a "political prostitute" in a raucous debate over the fate of a $110-million-dollarpublic housing proposal for the city (Hahn in favor and Harby opposed). At one point, Harby "reached over" and shoved Hahn back into his seat.[14]
Birds, 1951. Hahn proposed a special police patrol to protect birds nesting on the City Hall grounds. The idea was referred to a committee.[15]
Un-American, 1952. Hahn and Council MembersHarold A. Henry,Earle D. Baker andJ. Win Austin attended a dinner meeting inSouth Gate to honor theHouse Committee on Un-American Activities.[16]
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Hahn was elected to the County Board of Supervisors for the first time in 1952. He was elected to his tenth term in 1988 with 84% of the vote. He was known for his promotion of social causes,bringing the Los Angeles Dodgers to Los Angeles and putting emergency call boxes along freeways.[6] In 1970 he joined with his personal physician, cardiologistWalter S. Graf, to establish the first system of emergency paramedic care in California; Hahn is credited with winning support for the then-radical idea from the Board of Supervisors and the state legislature, and persuading then-governorRonald Reagan to sign the bill authorizing the provision of emergency medical care by trained personnel other than doctors and nurses.[17]
At the Board of Supervisors, Hahn designed the County Seal adopted in 1957, which was modified in 2004 due to theChristian cross on the seal. TheAmerican Civil Liberties Union had threatened a lawsuit if the county had not removed the cross.[18]
In 1961, Hahn was the only public official to greetMartin Luther King Jr. when he came to Los Angeles "after confronting the police dogs and water hoses of Birmingham".[19][20] AfterKing was assassinated in April 1968, Hahn asked King’s wife,Coretta Scott King if a new hospital could be named after him.Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center opened in 1972.[21]
At theLos Angeles County Transportation Commission, Hahn proposed and eventually achieved consensus in favor of putting a proposition on the ballot that not only included funding for a rail network (controversial in some suburban communities), but also funding for local transit to be spent by the local communities as well as lower bus fares for three years. While the two previous rail transit ballot measures were rejected by the electorate, the compromiseProposition A was approved at the November 4, 1980 election by 54% of voters and eventually led to the creation of theLos Angeles Metro Rail network.[22]
Hahn died of heart failure on October 12, 1997, at the age of 77 in an Inglewood hospital.[8] A funeral service was held at Faith Dome ofCrenshaw Christian Center on Vermont Avenue, and interment followed atInglewood Park Cemetery.[8][23]
Hahn was married to Ramona Hahn. They had two children, James and Janice. They lived at 833-1/2 West 69th Street in the Vermont-Slauson district.[24] He was a "deeply religious man who often quoted Scripture".[19]
Hahn was reported to have suffered a stroke in 1987, from which he recovered over a lengthy period of time.[25] His recovery did not substantially affect his popularity or reelection.[26]
Hahn belonged to an influential political dynasty, theHahn family of California: One brother,Gordon Hahn, replaced him on the Los Angeles City Council, while another, John, was assistant county clerk. His son,James Hahn, was Los Angeles city attorney from 1985 to 2001 and mayor from 2001 to 2005. James Hahn is now a judge on theLos Angeles County Superior Court.
Hahn's daughter,Janice Hahn, was on the Los Angeles City Council and was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives; she is now on the County Board of Supervisors. A nephew, Dale Hahn, was a Superior Court judge (inSan Mateo County) until retiring in 2004.
Hahn is memorialized in the name of the main county building inDowntown Los Angeles as theKenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.[27]
He is also remembered in the naming of a large park inBaldwin Hills, theKenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. The103rd Street/Kenneth Hahn station on theA Line of theLos Angeles Metro Rail is named in his honor.
For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with aLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum"Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of Los Angeles County 1977-1978 1979–1980 | Succeeded by Peter F. Schabarum Edmund D. Edelman |
| Preceded by Leonard J. Roach | Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 2nd District 1952–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles City Council 8th District 1947–1952 | Succeeded by |
