Los Angeles
County
Biographies
JAMES STUART
Alhambra’s
first mayor, under its charter created in 1915, James Stuart, came to Los
Angeles in 1904, with a year’s experience behind him as a young attorney in
Ohio and contributed his energies to the development of the then awakening
city, after its previous boom and recession.
Mr.
Stuart, son of Daniel and Nannie Stuart, was born June 24, 1878, in Bourbon
County, Kentucky. Both parents died in
their early forties, leaving six minor children. A maiden aunt took the family to Lebanon,
Ohio, then widely known as an educational center and seat of National Normal
University, a university never known to have a vacation period.
Mr.
Stuart attended both Lebanon High School and the University and later enrolled
in the law school of George Washington University at Washington, D. C. This university was noted for its teaching of
law and diplomacy.
In
Washington Mr. Stuart came in contact with many noted people of that day. Among his teachers were three United States
Supreme Court judges, all three of whom honored him by signing his graduation
diploma.
Mr.
Stuart was admitted to the Ohio State Bar and spent a year in a law office in
Dayton, Ohio. There he learned to become
a lawyer which was a long and hard grind and through the influence of an uncle,
a mid-western railway executive, he came to Los Angeles in 1904 and became
associated with the Henry E. Huntington land interests after being admitted to
the California State Bar. Mr. Huntington
shortly prior thereto had inherited an immense fortune from his uncle, Collis
P. Huntington, builder of the first trans-continental railway, and had acquired
Los Angeles Railway Co., a power company, and was developing the Pacific
Electric Railway suburban lines in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Mr. Stuart’s time was mostly given to
acquiring needed real estate and rights of way for the three public
utilities. One property he acquired was
the northwest corner of Main and 2nd streets in Alhambra for a
Pacific Electric Railway depot. At that
time the railway fare changed at Garfield Ave., and the city being afraid the
fare would thereafter be changed at 2nd Street, hastily acquired a
large property at the northwest corner of Main St. and Stoneman Ave. and
swapped property with the railway company.
The depot was therefore erected at Main and Stoneman Ave., and later the
city built its City Hall at Main and 2nd streets.
In
1906 Mr. Stuart married Miss Nackie Richards Benham of Lebanon, Ohio, whose acquaintance he had made in
high school and who was the daughter of the president of a Lebanon bank. Also in 1906 Mr. Stuart and others
incorporated Southwest Land Co. of which Mr. Stuart became vice president,
later president, and during the years that followed developed a large portion
of southwest Los Angeles, a total of 424 acres.
The company having finished its purpose disincorporated
in 1915.
In
June, 1914, Mr. Stuart while residing in Alhambra was appointed to fill a
vacancy in Alhambra’s city council. The
city’s fiscal year ended June 30 and on July 1 he attended his first council
meeting, at which meeting he learned the city was without funds to pay employees
or any city bills until taxes began to be paid in October and neither had the
city ever had a budget or purchasing agent.
Further when the council adjourned no one was in full charge of the
city’s business.
Mr.
Stuart says he lost some sleep the following night and wondered what he had
gotten into.
After
another meeting of the council he called a meeting of some twelve leading
citizens, among whom were Senator N. W. Thompson,
state senator from Los Angeles County and Judge William N. Northrup who had
been Alhambra’s first city attorney.
Alhambra like other cities of its size in California was then governed
by state law.
Mr.
Stuart called the groups’ attention to the following: lack of governmental organization under state
law, the city’s need of better water pressure for fire protection, need of
sewers of which the city had none except on Garfield Ave. to Mission Rd. (which
was a Pasadena sewer) and the need of paved streets of which the city had
none. He told the group it would be
difficult for the city to get these much needed improvements with its then form
of government and advised a form of government fashioned after that of a
private corporation.
The
group was enlarged and after several meetings a board of 15 freeholders was
appointed with Senator Thompson as chairman to write a city charter containing
a city manager and his powers definitely defined. The charter was approved by popular vote and
went into effect July 1, 1915. The
charter provided for a commission of five members as a governing body, a mayor
to serve 2 years and one commissioner from each of four districts, elected in
alternating years for a 4 year term.
The
commission was empowered to legislate, fix policies and appoint the
manager. The manager with broad powers
was the executive officer of the city and subject to dismissal only by the
commission. The commissioners only were
subject to recall by vote of the electorate.
Mr. Stuart says the framers of the charter insisted that he be a
candidate for mayor and with their loyal support he carried all precincts but
one. Charles Hewes
was appointed city manager and city engineer.
The
most pressing matter for the new government was that of water pressure. Alhambra Addition Water Co. with mostly light
gage pipe served the city with water and in the early part of 1914 had offered
its plant to the city for $500,000 which was declined. The commissioners requested Mr. Stuart to
negotiate with the water company for either it replacing its water mains with
cast iron mains or a price for its purchase.
Mr. Stuart associated with him Mr. R. F. Bishop, an elderly Alhambra
resident who had formerly been manager of the water company and was conversant
with its water rights. In time they
obtained a price from the company of $323,000 for its plant, local water rights
and rights in Kuehn Canyon in Pasadena east of the Huntington Hotel.
The
commission placed a 5% bond issue before the electorate of sufficient amount to
cover the purchase price, the cost of cast iron mains and the large fire hydrants
now seen in Alhambra streets. The bond
issue carried by a large vote and the sale was completed. Mr. Stuart says the credit for a job well
done should go to Mr. Bishop. With some
additional water rights obtained later, Alhambra now a city of 55,000 finds its
water adequate for its increased population.
To join the Metropolitan Water System with a much inferior quality of
water is estimated to cost the city $13,000,000.
Shortly
thereafter a bond issue was voted and sewers placed throughout the entire city,
two new fire stations were constructed and Main Street, Garfield and Atlantic
Avenues paved. The above was all
accomplished in the first two years under the charter.
In
June, 1917, Mr. Stuart was re-elected mayor without opposition for another two
year term. The United States having
entered the First World War in April, 1917, the next two years were devoted
wholly to war effort.
In
January, 1916, Mr. Stuart, having previously been admitted to the California
State Bar, as attorney, joined Guaranty Trust and Savings Bank, with offices at
Spring & 7th streets, Los Angeles, in its newly created trust
department and after several consolidations of banks retired at 70 years of
age, trust officer of Security First National Bank at its head office, Spring
& 6th streets, Los Angeles.
Mr.
Stuart says the charter has been changed in several respects but no drastic
changes have been made. One change has
been to divide the city into 5 districts, elect a commissioner from each
district and they each year choose one of their number
to act as mayor. He says the city’s
government is of the best, its bonds are easily sought at the lowest rate of
interest and there has been no recall election.
Mr.
Stuart served on the Library Board for many years, is a member of San Gabriel
County Club, Alhambra Masonic Lodge, San Gabriel Valley Chapter, Alhambra
Council and Commandery.
Mr.
and Mrs. Stuart have had but one child, Elizabeth Stuart, married to Alfred
Gary Barstow both of whom graduated from Alhambra High School and Stanford
University.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 823-826, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES