Hahn family of California

Last updated
Hahn
Political family
Gordon Hahn, 1958.jpg
Kenneth Hahn, 1965.jpg
James Hahn, 2014.jpg
SupervisorHahn (cropped).jpg
Top row: Gordon and Kenneth Hahn
Bottom row: James and Janice Hahn
CountryUnited States
Current regionCalifornia
Place of originLos Angeles, California
FounderJohn Heinrich Hahn

The Hahn family of California is an American political family related to Gordon Hahn, a State Assemblyman and Los Angeles City Councilmember, and his younger brother Kenneth Hahn, a Los Angeles City Councilmember and later a County Board Supervisor. Kenneth's children, James and Janice, have also held various political offices based in the Los Angeles area, with the Los Angeles Times writing that their political strength has been compared with the Daleys of Chicago.

Contents

History

The Hahn family began when John Heinrich Hahn and his wife, Hattie Louise Wiggins Hahn, emigrated from Saskatchewan to Los Angeles in 1919. [1] The couple had seven children, including Gordon Hahn and Kenneth Hahn. Both brothers attended Pepperdine University, with Gordon later going on to graduate from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Their older brother, John Dee Hahn, became a civil service employee in 1930 and also was a clerk in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. [2] Some of the brothers, including Kenneth, worked as the Hahn Brothers' Service Station owned by another older brother, Henry.

Kenneth married Ramona Fox in 1948, with the two having two children, James in 1950 and Janice in 1952. Kenneth died on October 12, 1997, due to a heart failure, while Gordon died on March 29, 2001. Ramona would die on July 11, 2011, the day before Janice's election to the U.S. House of Representatives. [3]

Political history

Janice Hahn with her family and House Speaker John Boehner during her swearing-in in 2011. Janice Hahn being sworn in.jpg
Janice Hahn with her family and House Speaker John Boehner during her swearing-in in 2011.

In 1946, Kenneth attempted to break into politics by running for the State Assembly's 66th district, but was unable to compete due to him winning the Republican nomination but not winning the Democratic nomination as he was a Democrat. [4] Gordon would ultimately get the Republican nomination, and later go on to win a seat in the Assembly. [5] Kenneth would get a seat in the Los Angeles City Council a year later, representing the 8th district. [6]

In 1981, James became the 5th Los Angeles City Controller and later became the 15th Los Angeles City Attorney four years later. In 1987, Dale Hahn, James and Janice's cousin, became a judge of the San Mateo County Superior Court, and would retire in 2004. [7] In 2001, Both James and Janice both won political offices in Los Angeles: James became the 40th Mayor of Los Angeles after defeating California Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa while Janice became a Los Angeles City Councilmember for the 15th district. James would later lose the 2005 election to Villaraigosa while Janice would later become a member of the United States House of Representatives after a special election in 2011.

In 2009, James was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and in 2016, Janice became a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 4th district.

Legacy

The Hahn brothers are credited with bringing the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, with Kenneth helping with the push to vote and Gordon helping cast a deciding vote on the City Council. [8] [9] They were also known for helping empower black politicians in the area, with Gordon stepping aside for Billy G. Mills on the advice of Kenneth. [10]

Some buildings and parks have been named after the Hahn family. In 1988, the Baldwin Hills State Recreational Area was renamed to the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area to honor his preservation efforts there; later on, the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration was renamed to the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in 1992. [11] The 103rd Street/Watts Towers station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail was previously named 103rd Street/Kenneth Hahn in his honor.

In 2014, Los Angeles City Hall's City Hall East was renamed to James K. Hahn City Hall East. [12]

Offices held

Gordon Hahn
Kenneth Hahn
James Hahn
Janice Hahn
Dale Hahn

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hahn</span> American lawyer and politician

James Kenneth Hahn is an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Hahn was elected the 40th mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He served until 2005, at which time he was defeated in his bid for re-election. Prior to his term as Mayor, Hahn served in several other capacities for the city of Los Angeles, including deputy city attorney (1975–1979), city controller (1981–1985) and city attorney (1985–2001). Hahn is the only individual in the city's history to have been elected to all three citywide offices. He is currently a sitting judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Riordan</span> American businessman and politician (1930–2023)

Richard Joseph Riordan was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001; as of 2023, he remains the last Republican to hold that office. He ran for governor in the 2002 California gubernatorial election, losing the Republican primary. After politics, he resumed his business career, specializing in private equity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Los Angeles mayoral election</span>

The 2005 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on March 8, 2005, with a run-off election on May 17, 2005. In a rematch of the 2001 election, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa defeated the sitting mayor, James Hahn, becoming the city's first Hispanic mayor since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Hahn</span> American politician from Los Angeles

Kenneth Frederick Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Los Angeles mayoral election</span>

The 2001 Los Angeles mayoral election took place on April 10, 2001, with a run-off election on June 5, 2001. Incumbent mayor Richard Riordan was prevented from running for a third term because of term limits. In the election to replace him, then-City Attorney James Hahn defeated Antonio Villaraigosa, the former speaker of the California State Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Hahn</span> American politician

Gordon Ryerson Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles City Council and California State Assembly in the mid-20th Century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy G. Mills</span> American politician

Billy Gene Mills is a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge and a former Los Angeles City Council member, serving from 1963 to 1974. He was one of the first three African-Americans elected to the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert W. Lindsay</span> American politician

Gilbert William Lindsay was an American politician who worked his way up from Los Angeles City Hall janitor to become the city's first black City Council member and one of its most powerful elected officials. He helped fashion downtown Los Angeles into a major metropolitan center but was accused of turning his back on the people in his district who elected him to 27 years on the city's governing body from 1963 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hertzberg</span> American politician and attorney

Robert Myles Hertzberg is an American politician who previously served in the California State Senate. A Democrat he represented the 18th Senate District, which includes parts of the San Fernando Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janice Hahn</span> American politician (born 1952)

Janice Kay Hahn is an American politician serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a U.S. Representative from California from 2011 to 2016, elected in the 36th congressional district until 2013 and later in the 44th congressional district. She was previously a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 15th district from 2001 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999, she served as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Ludlow</span> American labor leader and politician

Martin Ludlow is the president and chief executive officer of Bridge Street Inc. and a former member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 10th district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area</span> State recreation area in Los Angeles County, California, United States

Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, or Kenneth Hahn Park, is a state park unit of California in the Baldwin Hills Mountains of Los Angeles. The park is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As one of the largest urban parks and regional open spaces in the Greater Los Angeles Area, many have called it "L.A.'s Central Park". The 401-acre (1.62 km2) park was established in 1984. The land hs previously been the Baldwin Hills Dam, which catastrophically collapsed in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Villaraigosa</span> Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013

Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, a member of President Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board, and chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration</span> Seat of government for Los Angeles County, California

Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, formerly the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration, completed 1960, is the seat of the government of the County of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, meeting chambers, and the offices of several County departments. It is located in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles, encompassing a city block bounded by Grand, Temple, Hill, and Grand Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 California gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of California

The 2018 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Brown was ineligible to run for re-election for a third consecutive term due to term limits from the Constitution of California. The race was between the incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and businessman John H. Cox, a Republican, who qualified for the general election after placing first and second in the June 5, 2018, primary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Barger</span> American politician

Kathryn Ann Barger-Leibrich is an American politician, serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 5th District since 2016 and is the Chair Pro Tem of Los Angeles County. A member of the Republican Party, Barger served as Chair of Los Angeles County from 2019 to 2020. She previously served as Chief Deputy Supervisor and Chief of Staff to her predecessor Mayor Michael D. Antonovich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Los Angeles elections</span> Municipal elections in Los Angeles, California

The 2022 Los Angeles elections were held on June 7, 2022. Voters elected candidates in a nonpartisan primary, with runoff elections scheduled for November 8, 2022. Eight of the fifteen seats in the City Council were up for election while three of the seven seats in the LAUSD Board of Education were up for election. The seat of Mayor of Los Angeles was up for election due to incumbent Eric Garcetti's term limit. The seats of the Los Angeles City Controller and the Los Angeles City Attorney were also up for election, as their incumbents, Mike Feuer and Ron Galperin, were running for mayor and California State Controller respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim McOsker</span> American politician

Timothy B. McOsker is an American politician, businessman, attorney, and former lobbyist, serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 15th district. Prior to that, he was the CEO of AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles from 2018 to 2022 and chief of staff to Los Angeles City Attorney and later Mayor James Hahn from 1997 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Hutt</span> American politician (born 1959)

Heather J. Hutt is an American politician who is currently serving as an appointed councilmember representing the 10th District of Los Angeles since April 11, 2023, previously serving for a temporary vacancy from September 2, 2022 to March 30, 2023. She was previously a candidate for California's 54th State Assembly district in 2021 and served as a California State Director for then-Senator Kamala Harris from 2019 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Los Angeles County elections</span> Elections in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.

The 2024 Los Angeles County elections will be held on November 5, 2024, in Los Angeles County, California, with nonpartisan blanket primary elections for certain offices being held on March 5. Three of the five seats of the Board of Supervisors are up for election, as well as one of the countywide elected officials, the District Attorney.

References

  1. "Mother of Legislators, Mrs. Hattie Hahn, Dies". Los Angeles Times . June 13, 1951.
  2. "Arlie Hahn Volunteer and Everyone's Grandmother" (PDF). Mountain Views News . December 26, 2009.
  3. "Polical Family Matriarch Ramona Hahn, Dead at 86". KNBC . July 11, 2011.
  4. "STATE LEGISLATURE GROUP FARES WELL: 17 Assembly Incumbents Apparently Elected; Sen. Tenney Believed to Have Safe Lead". Los Angeles Times . June 6, 1946.
  5. Woo, Elaine (March 31, 2001). "Gordon Hahn; Longtime L.A. Political Figure". Los Angeles Times .
  6. Simon, Richard (October 13, 1997). "From the Archives: People's Politician Kenneth Hahn Dies". Los Angeles Times .
  7. Ross Jr., Bobby (August 19, 2011). "America's newest congresswoman is a Church of Christ member". The Christian Chronicle .
  8. Henderson, Cary S. (1980). "Los Angeles and the Dodger War, 1957–1962". University of California Press. pp. 261–289.
  9. Harvey, Randy (October 14, 1997). "Kenneth Hahn Prominent in L.A. Sports Scene Too". Los Angeles Times .
  10. "THE HAHN LEGACY CONTINUES". Random Lengths News. August 6, 2015.
  11. Tobar, Hector (18 October 1992). "Downtown County Building Renamed for Kenneth Hahn". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  12. Karlamangla, Soumya (September 4, 2014). "L.A. City Hall East building renamed for former Mayor James K. Hahn". Los Angeles Times .