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73-470: The club has two founding dates set in stone at the entrance to its Downtown Los Angeles building — 1894 (when it was a political club) and 1895 (when it segued into a non-political social club and was chartered by State of California). The club bases its anniversaries on the June 8, 1895 date. Membership in the club is by invitation only. For much of its history, the club was accused of discrimination . In 1965,

146-476: A Democrat , he became a Republican in 1973. Sam Yorty was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska , the son of Frank Patrick and Johanna (Egan) Yorty. His paternal grandfather was Pennsylvania Dutch , while the rest of his ancestors were Irish , his mother being a native of Clonmel , Ireland. He began his political education as the son of a Democratic father in a Republican state, with a mother who also showed

219-428: A 1987 newsletter that "Clubs are under broad attack nationwide." He said: The proponents of anti-club measures consist principally of a relatively small group of strident professional women in metropolitan centers, the anti-Establishment news media, vote-seeking politicians, a few minority leaders, do-gooders, the radical left, and social engineers who would restructure our social system according to their own ideas. ,,,

292-399: A bad temper. The often-irascible Yorty held his temper throughout the campaign, seeming almost cool in contrast to Roosevelt. He pointed to the fact that he had cut city taxes, streamlined city government and improved garbage pickups. He outpolled Roosevelt 392,775 (57.9 percent) to 247,313 (36.5 percent), with the remainder of votes going to six other candidates on the ballot. Although Yorty

365-678: A bill sponsored by Council Member Joy Picus to ban discrimination at most of the city's large private clubs, based on "sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability." It applied to any club with more than 400 members that "takes payments for meetings attended by non-members." In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities may, in certain described cases, force large private clubs to admit minorities and women. It said that "clubs which serve meals and rent facilities to outsiders are more like business establishments than intimate social groups and therefore have no right to escape anti-discrimination laws." In 1965,

438-538: A club of his peers. ... I feel emancipated." Jonathan Club president Robert Brimberry said in February 1978 that "In recent years certain restrictions have been changing. ... we are accepting and considering all applications on their merit, including those of minorities and women." Also in fall 1977, two Jewish men were admitted as members of the Los Angeles Country Club — Sherrill Corwin , head of

511-639: A club official 'not one grain of sand' would be given to the club until it changed its membership policies." On July 25, 1985, the Coastal Commission did order the club to adopt nondiscriminatory policies before it could expand its recreational use onto state-owned beach property. The decision was upheld by the state Supreme Court in May 1988 even though the Jonathan Club had said that it did not bar women or minorities as members. In March 1986,

584-486: A dangerous radical, alternately of the black power or Communist revolutionary varieties. The charges were not plausible since Bradley had spent much of his career in the Los Angeles Police Department , but they resonated among fearful voters, and Yorty was re-elected. Despite winning another four years, Yorty showed obvious signs of boredom in his position. He ran again for governor in 1970 but

657-533: A liberal Republican, had been appointed to the seat in 1953 by then- Governor of California Earl Warren when Nixon became vice president. In 1960, Yorty endorsed fellow Californian Richard Nixon over Massachusetts Senator and fellow Democrat John F. Kennedy for president. This angered many in the Democratic Party. Although municipal elections in California are non-partisan, the resources of

730-553: A local membership chairman of the Communist Party, proved to be untrustworthy and Yorty was vindicated. That episode, plus the refusal of the local Communist Party to endorse him for mayor of Los Angeles that year, began a shift of Yorty's political beliefs. Losing a 1940 bid for U.S. Senator , when he ran unsuccessfully as a liberal internationalist against isolationist Republican and longtime incumbent Hiram Johnson , Yorty left politics during World War II to serve in

803-563: A member told the Times in 1976, adding that "We no longer have a women's elevator." In 1977 the Jonathan Club "voted overwhelmingly" to admit women to membership. But Betty Bryant Morris, associate counsel at Union Bank , found treatment of her membership application "raised suspicions among some that the club has no real intention" of taking a woman as a member. Directors at first wanted to delay her nomination for one year, but, after pressure, they changed their mind and sent Morris's application to

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876-627: A memo announcing that the firm would no longer reimburse executives for memberships in "discriminatory private clubs." The order affected "about 30" people who belonged to the California and Jonathan clubs in Los Angeles and the Dallas Petroleum Club. Hillcrest Country Club president Mark B. Levey said in April 1987 that the club had taken steps to recruit non-Jewish members and had "about two dozen" at that time. In February 1988,

949-410: A message that we've been here too long already." During the fall of 1968, Yorty refused to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey . The strategy behind this approach was that Yorty would be rewarded with a cabinet post by Richard Nixon for his lack of support of Humphrey, but Nixon declined to offer him a position in the new administration. Continuing their adversarial relationship,

1022-485: A partner in the Korn/Ferry International executive-search firm. The Hillcrest Country Club changed its bylaws in April 1987 to provide for women as members and to allow daughters and wives, as well as sons, to inherit the memberships of deceased members. Women guests were "limited to certain floors, dining rooms and entrances" but they "can now use the main elevator and lobby" at the Jonathan Club,

1095-465: A permit from the Jonathan Club to expand the club's facilities on the Santa Monica beach . The council also voted to send a letter to the state's Coastal Commission stating that the club's membership policies might affect "the public's right to beach access." "Previous councils had refused to act on the matter because of the club's alleged discriminatory policies ... Councilwoman Cheryl Rhoden told

1168-846: A pretext for excluding Jews; he said he was denied admission for more than forty years under those circumstances. Another example of membership discrimination is reverse discrimination , such as the many private clubs in California that exclude men. In San Francisco at least three private social clubs exist (the Francisca Club , the Town & Country Club and the Metropolitan Club) which do not allow men to become members. To date, there have been no pressure campaigns or threats of lawsuits to force women-only private clubs to begin admitting men as members. Many women-only clubs are experiencing declining memberships, while men-only clubs such as

1241-723: A private social club from barring members on the grounds of sex, religion or race." The club now admits women with equal access as men. In 1975 "neither the Los Angeles Country Club nor any other major country club" had changed "the traditional policy that bans single women as full members, and limits all women to specific starting times on the golf course. The city sued the Brentwood Country Club in August 1987 to force it to stop barring women from its "Men's Grill" and golf course during part of

1314-427: A push in 1970 for blacks to join up. Some, like Ernest J. Gaines , the first black person to be awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University, declined to join because he was "just sort of tired of being the first to go into things," and he doubted he "would have found people with whom he could discuss [Ernest] Hemingway." Cecil Poole , who was a black federal appeals judge, also would not join. In 1976

1387-463: A strong interest in politics. The family moved to Southern California when Yorty completed high school. He retained his Midwestern inflection and was known for pronouncing the city's name as / l ɒ s ˈ æ ŋ ɡ ə l iː z / los-ANG-gə-leez (with a hard "G"). Yorty enrolled at Southwestern University and later the University of California at Los Angeles , working for a time at

1460-511: A talk show on KCOP-TV for five years, later complaining that he was canceled in favor of the television program Hee Haw . After leaving work on the small screen, he returned to the political arena, but failed in a comeback bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1980, having been defeated by the conservative Paul Gann , who in turn was badly beaten by incumbent liberal Democrat Alan Cranston . In 1981, Yorty failed again in

1533-542: A vociferous campaign by the losers, the club scheduled another vote on the same issue, and in March 1988, the regular members voted 728 to 297 to accept women members. In a separate category of non-resident members, the vote was 149 to 38. The first new members admitted under the new policy were E. Camron Cooper, senior vice president and treasurer of the Atlantic Richfield Company , and Linda Hartwick,

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1606-539: Is uncommon only in that it involves one of the nation's most celebrated exponents of women's rights. Dispute over the new — if less well-known — members of such facilities as dining rooms, golf courses and health clubs has also marked the integration of other clubs in Los Angeles and elsewhere. In 1974, Ellen Stern Harris , vice chairman of the California Coastal Commission , was not allowed to join her fellow commissioners for an informal tour of

1679-697: The Bohemian have decades-long waiting lists of would-be members. By 1976 some businesses were deciding not to reimburse executives for the dues they paid to clubs that discriminated against minorities. Wells Fargo Bank banned meetings at discriminatory clubs in October 1975, and Bank of America was also one of the first, announcing moreover that it would not itself maintain such memberships, nor would it sponsor events anywhere "unless all business guests who should attend can attend." Mayor Tom Bradley's office announced that he would no longer attend meetings at either

1752-719: The California State University system, belonged to the California Club and the Bohemian Club, while Paul F. Romberg , president of San Francisco State University , was a member of the Bohemian Club and Alistair W. McCrone , president of Humboldt State University , belonged to the Ingomar Club . Dumke and Romberg paid their membership fees with privately donated money, but McCrone used state money for his fees. The Bohemian Club did make

1825-701: The Carson Mansion in Eureka because the private Ingomar Club , housed there, admitted women "only on specified days." The state attorney-general's office filed suit against the club in July 1974 after the Ingomar board of directors decided not to change the rule. It was settled in early 1978 with the club agreeing that women have the right to enter "for any business, civic or political function." It did not involve membership, though, "since state law does not prevent

1898-838: The Jonathan Club and none in the Los Angeles Country Club . The two clubs were known for their discrimination against Jews. Yet the Hillcrest Country Club in Beverly Hills was the "Jewish" counterpart to the Los Angeles Country Club, and Lew Wasserman , chairman of the board of the Music Corporation of America , told Times reporter Robert Scheer that the Hillcrest club "has consistently discriminated against non-Jewish members." The Los Angeles Athletic Club had admitted blacks as members since

1971-622: The Jonathan Club , yet the latter club hadn't "taken in any Jewish members for at least two decades," Neil C. Sandberg regional director of the American Jewish Committee , told Jack Smith of the Los Angeles Times. Smith wrote that a campaign had been going on for ten years to "quietly but unrelentingly" persuade "what has been called the 'last bastion' of anti-Semitism in America — the downtown men's clubs of

2044-587: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . He was admitted to the bar in 1939. Elected as a Democrat to the California State Assembly in 1936, Yorty established himself as a politician with integrity, but watched his popularity plummet when he reported a bribery attempt on a pending bill. Yorty advocated state ownership of public utilities and strong labor unions, showing a liberal approach to politics. His support of

2117-730: The Los Angeles Zoo . He also made frequent appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , which boosted his popularity. At the same time, he was a passionate anti-Communist, a critic of the Civil Rights Movement , and an outspoken opponent of desegregation busing and feminism . In 1965, Yorty was reelected over Democratic Congressman James Roosevelt , son of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt's campaign put up hundreds of billboards, handed out bales of bumper stickers and buttons, appeared often on television with 15-minute and half-hour shows, and

2190-437: The Times published an editorial cartoon by Paul Conrad lampooning this failure and Yorty responded with an unsuccessful lawsuit . In the 1969 mayoral primary, Yorty's popularity slipped well below that of Los Angeles City Council member Tom Bradley . The ensuing campaign between Yorty and Bradley, directed for Yorty by Henry Salvatori , proved one of the most bitter in the city's history. Yorty painted his opponent as

2263-794: The United States Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater , attaining the rank of captain in the Intelligence Branch . He resumed his Assembly seat after his discharge. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1950 and was reelected in 1952, but again lost his race for the U.S. Senate in 1954. In that special election for the two years remaining of the term of Richard M. Nixon , Yorty received 1,788,071 votes (45.5%) to Senator Thomas H. Kuchel 's 2,090,831 (53.2%). Kuchel,

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2336-725: The "most prestigious city clubs" in the Greater Los Angeles area were open only to Christians, but by 1969 those figures had dropped to eleven and five. Six of the city and country clubs that discriminated in 1969 were listed in Los Angeles, five in Pasadena, two in Glendale and one each in La Habra, Long Beach and Upland. In July 1969, there were no Jewish members in the California Club but "at least one Jew" in

2409-599: The American troops and was thereafter dubbed "Saigon Sam" by his liberal opponents. In 1967, Yorty was forced to deal with scandal after the Los Angeles Times published an exposé on the city's harbor commission. The investigation led to the indictment and conviction of four city commissioners for bribery, while another was found dead in Los Angeles Harbor . The newspaper, which had long feuded with

2482-795: The California Club admitted a Jew, Harold Brown , the United States secretary of defense and former president of the California Institute of Technology , "several years after he was first nominated for membership" by Franklin Murphy , chairman of the board of the Times-Mirror Company, and after "a protracted struggle among club members." Jews were admitted to membership about 1966 in the Los Angeles Chancery Club, for attorneys, and in 1976 there

2555-531: The California Club admitted its first black member in the person of Joseph L. Alexander , 58-year-old surgeon and former Army colonel. The club also approved Ivan J. Houston , the chief executive officer of the predominantly black Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company . A "number of Jews" were said to have been admitted in recent years as well. At the beginning of 1985, the Santa Monica Planning Commission "grudgingly approved"

2628-748: The Club opened its present location at 545 S. Figueroa Street, one block west of the Los Angeles Public Library . Since 1927, the club has had a beach location in Santa Monica, in a building designed by architect Gene Verge, Sr. 34°03′05″N 118°15′31″W  /  34.051517°N 118.258498°W  / 34.051517; -118.258498 Membership discrimination in California social clubs Membership discrimination in California social clubs has been based on sex, race, religion, political views and social standing. In

2701-399: The Jonathan Club was charged with "anti-Negro" and "anti-Jew" bias and a complaint was raised that the membership dues of Mayor Sam Yorty were being paid by city taxpayers to support such discrimination. Yorty told a news conference he knew nothing about such a circumstance. The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith said that, in 1962, twelve of the "leading country clubs" and eight of

2774-775: The Jonathan or the California clubs. But a survey made by the Wall Street Journal in May 1976 "indicated that most companies felt any rules could be dodged," primarily by giving employees a salary increase instead of paying their club fees. Responding to letters from the Jewish Federation Council, California Club president Luther Anderson wrote in September 1975 that the club "has no membership policy of any sort, and that individual decisions are made by an autonomous admissions committee over which

2847-603: The Korean War by threatening to use nuclear weapons. However, Yorty received just six percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was never able to gain any momentum in his bid for the nomination. He finally ended his bid shortly before the California primary in June 1972, asking voters to support Humphrey because of the " radical " nature of anti- Vietnam War candidate George McGovern . Yorty picked up

2920-717: The Metropolitan Theaters chain, and Si Ramo , an executive at TRW Inc. The membership of William French Smith , President Ronald Reagan's choice for U.S. attorney-general in the discriminatory California and Bohemian clubs became an issue for him before Smith's nomination was approved by the Senate in January 1981. In 1987 the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California voted to ban from participating in

2993-740: The Republicans in Spain's civil war against General Francisco Franco and his fight against using the California Highway Patrol to end labor strikes helped earn him support of the local Communist Party United States of America organization. That support haunted Yorty in 1938, when he was branded a communist by Folsom Prison inmate Arthur Kent during testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee . Kent, who claimed to have been

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3066-755: The Rotary clubs' federation Rotary International was ordered by a state appellate court to reinstate the Rotary Club of Duarte it had ousted in 1983 for admitting three women members, and three years later the University Club in Pasadena decided also to admit women. The all-male club had voted against the idea twice before — in 1977 and 1980. John M. Robinson, president of the California State Club Association, wrote in

3139-470: The all-male Tuna Club after City Council Member Irene Strobel said she had " twice accepted invitations to visit the club in her role as a council member, but she refused to enter by the side or back doors that women are supposed to use. Instead, she went through the front door." After "months of inquiry," city officials agreed that the Tuna Club did not discriminate against women. A March 14 letter from

3212-418: The annual Conference of Delegates any local bar association that patronized any private discriminatory club which excluded people from membership or use of its facilities because of their "race, color, creed, national ancestry, sex or sexual preference." Other controversies in the 1980s included those in: In November 1988, Avalon city officials on Santa Catalina Island asked the city attorney to investigate

3285-404: The board in 1977, she and Jo Heckman, the only other female director, had to enter the University Club in that city through a side door. Attorney Candis Ipswich said she applied for membership the same year and was rejected because "I was the wrong sex." J. Peter Dunston, a Washington, D.C., businessman who was spending a year in Los Angeles, was "surprised" in February 1978 to find "how directly"

3358-479: The board of directors has no control." A year later, on October 1, 1976, the council mailed letters to top officials at 160 major corporations in Southern California, urging them not to hold meetings or functions at the California Club and to "reconsider" their policies of paying club membership dues for their executives. In July 1978, the Los Angeles Times reported that Glenn Dumke , chancellor of

3431-527: The city charter, which had become unwieldy with the city's growth from a quiet West Coast town to the third largest metropolis in the country. He was a strong advocate of expanding the freeway network. Perhaps his most popular promise was to end residents' sorting of wet and dry garbage; dry garbage was typically burned in backyard incinerators which contributed to the city's notorious smog. There had been two independent collections: wet garbage (including food waste ), and bottles and cans; dry combustible trash

3504-431: The city's police or fire departments. After the riots, Yorty challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown in the 1966 gubernatorial primary . He received 981,088 votes (37.6%) to Brown's 1,355,262 (51.9). Yorty's politics shifted toward the right. This change became evident when he joined the election-night celebration of Brown's successful opponent, Ronald W. Reagan . Yorty went to Vietnam to support

3577-408: The club said it "does not and will not discriminate ... on the basis of sex, race, religion and national origin." The club, founded in 1898, leased its facilities from the city. In 1982, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency "barred its employees from conducting any business" at the Jonathan Club, and law firms, banks and government agencies adopted policies boycotting the club. In October of

3650-448: The club was charged with "anti- Negro " and "anti- Jew " bias and a complaint was raised that the membership dues of Mayor Sam Yorty were being paid by city taxpayers to support such discrimination. Yorty told a news conference he knew nothing about such a circumstance. In 1975, the club did not admit women as members. Women guests were "limited to certain floors, dining rooms and entrances", though later policy changes allowed women to "use

3723-410: The day. It dropped the suit when the club agreed "to admit women to the restaurant at all hours and make the rules less restrictive to women golfers." In June 1987 the California Club took a vote on changing its bylaws and decided by a 4-1 margin to admit women. Club president Donald E. Butler said the decision was made by "a group of rational individuals trying to do the right thing." In response to

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3796-425: The early 1960s, but it was discovered in 1975 that the club was admitting blacks "on a slower, more regulated basis than whites, in an effort not to offend or lose white men." The club quickly changed its policies after complaints were made. Los Angeles bookseller Jake Zeitlin claimed in 1980 that many clubs, such as his city's Zamorano Club , an organization of bibliophiles , used a refusal to admit communists as

3869-408: The essence of a club is its exclusiveness. Unless the right to select desired members and to exclude unwanted members is unrestricted, the objective of compatibility and congeniality of members cannot be accomplished. The right thus to select and exclude necessarily includes the right to discriminate on any basis whatsoever. An organization to which everyone has the right to belong ceases to be a club in

3942-539: The last half of 1971, Yorty announced on November 15 of that year that he was running for the Democratic nomination for President in 1972. Yorty had received strong support from influential New Hampshire publisher William Loeb , stating that President Nixon had "caved in" to anti-war senators and that he had never agreed with the government's policy on the war. In response to the question of what he would do, Yorty noted that Dwight Eisenhower had helped bring an end to

4015-418: The late 1980s, a successful effort was made in many of the clubs to open up membership first to racial or religious minorities and then to women. Strictly private clubs that are not open to the public, and for which tax exemptions are not claimed, maintain their right to discriminate on the basis of sex or race, and all clubs can discriminate on the basis of social standing. A state law against discriminating in

4088-478: The main elevator and lobby" at the club. It voted to admit women in 1987, and today has more than 650 female members. The club provides dining, events, and athletic and wellness programs for members. Jonathan Club partners with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and provides volunteers and funding to civic organization L.A. Works to combat homelessness. Prominent members include: In 1924,

4161-488: The mayor, noted that all of the individuals had been appointed by Yorty. Support among the white middle classes fell after Yorty was embroiled in the controversy following the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel . Yorty outraged prosecutors in the case by freely commenting on the evidence. Kennedy had told his supporters only moments before he was shot, "Mayor Yorty has just sent me

4234-473: The membership committee. Sam Yorty Samuel William Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was an American politician, attorney, and radio host from Los Angeles , California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly , but he is most remembered for his turbulent three terms as the 37th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1961 to 1973. Although Yorty spent almost all of his political career as

4307-700: The nation's big cities" to allow Jews to become members. Led by the American Jewish Committee, "with the active aid of the Antidefamation League , American Jewish Congress ... and other Jewish organizations," the campaign was successful in the case of the Stock Exchange Club, the University Club and the Chancery Club, but the Jonathan and the California clubs remained closed. The campaign was publicized upon

4380-445: The party were directed against him when he ran for mayor of Los Angeles the following year against incumbent Republican Norris Poulson . The bitter campaign was marked by Poulson's claim that Yorty was backed by members of organized crime, a comment that caused Yorty to sue Poulson for $ 3.3 million. Yorty prevailed, however, running as a populist . He railed against "a little ruling clique" of "downtown interests" and promised to revise

4453-419: The prejudices of the Jonathan Club were expressed when he applied for membership and was interviewed by the membership committee. He was told that "Jews and blacks were not welcome in the club." One of the committee members later "denied everything," but the other said, "We explained it to him in a different way. We didn't use the word discriminate. 'Invite' was the word." In 1978 there was still only one Jew in

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4526-426: The report of a seven-year study made at UCLA by Reed M. Powell, a sociologist. In May 1975, a touring choir from the United States Air Force Academy decided not to give a proposed concert at the Jonathan Club because Academy officers had been informed that the club had a policy against hosting blacks. Loretta Thompson-Glickman, member of the Pasadena city Board of Directors , recalled that when first elected to

4599-414: The same year, Prince Philip of Great Britain, on a visit to Los Angeles to inspect equestrian sites for the 1984 Olympics , turned down an invitation to an evening at the California Club when he discovered that his host, Mayor Tom Bradley, refused to attend because the club "prohibits women and has no black members." On May 28, 1986, Lodwrick M. Cook , chief executive officer of the oil giant Arco , sent

4672-492: The service of private businesses was gradually made applicable to social clubs that engaged in commercial activities. Rules against discrimination were also applied where clubs were the beneficiaries of government in any way, notably through taxes or subsidies. The Bohemian Club was founded in San Francisco in 1872 as a journalists' social group, but it grew to become a refuge for some of the most powerful men in American business and politics. The similarly august California Club

4745-525: The state's Business and Professions Code, which took effect on January 1, 1976, threatened disciplinary action against "any holder of a state liquor license who discriminates on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, ancestry or national origin," but it specifically exempted private clubs with "discriminatory membership policy." The State Franchise Tax Board has forbidden business tax deductions for fees and expenses incurred at discriminatory private clubs. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley on May 28, 1987, signed

4818-459: The support of a young Louisiana delegate to the Democratic convention, Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins . After McGovern won the Democratic nomination for president, Yorty began to support Republicans. In 1973, Bradley soundly defeated Yorty in a rematch of their 1969 race. In 1974, Yorty ran fourth in another bid for governor in the Democratic primary, far behind then-Secretary of State Jerry Brown , son of Pat Brown. After leaving office, Yorty hosted

4891-432: The traditional sense." The Friars Club , a 700-member club consisting mostly of people in show business or the movies, had four women members by February 1988, including attorney Gloria Allred , who in that month engaged in a "very heated meeting" with club officials over her demand that women be allowed to use the health facilities of the club. Kenneth Reich of the Los Angeles Times wrote that: The Friars Club dispute

4964-443: Was burned in incinerators until Los Angeles County ordered an end to backyard trash burning in 1957, when Poulson was still mayor. After that, there were three collections: wet garbage, bottles and cans, and dry garbage. He made good on his waste management and highway promises, and oversaw the emergence of Los Angeles as a major city. He was a backer of the Los Angeles Music Center , business districts such as Little Tokyo , and of

5037-403: Was featured in so many other spots that his large presence in electronic media was criticized. Roosevelt's campaign cost around $ 450,000, but Yorty spent less than half that amount. Roosevelt called Yorty a stooge of Democrat Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh , the controversial California Assembly speaker. He attacked Yorty's membership in a segregated private club and repeatedly criticized Yorty for having

5110-613: Was founded in Los Angeles in 1888 when "at least 12 of the 125 founding members were Jews." But "as the original Jewish members died off, this power center became off limits to Jews." The Jonathan Club , a likewise prestigious social group, was established in Los Angeles in 1894. The Unruh Civil Rights Act , adopted in 1959, and as subsequently amended, outlaws discrimination based on age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and similar characteristics. The law applies to all businesses, including housing and public accommodations. Section 125.6 of

5183-425: Was handily defeated in the Democratic primary by State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh , 1,602,690 (61.4 percent) to 659,494 (26.3 percent). Unruh in turn was defeated by Reagan, who secured his second term as governor by a narrower margin than his 1966 majority over Pat Brown. Yorty began to leave all but the most important decisions to his staff. After spending almost 40 percent of his time away from Los Angeles during

5256-565: Was one black Chancery Club member — Sam Williams , president-elect of the County Bar Association. Warner Heineman, vice chairman of Union Bank, who was Jewish, was admitted to membership in the Jonathan Club in October 1977. He said the action was "something of a breakthrough. ... I personally feel I am a whole citizen now. I can't explain what it means for someone who was persecuted in Germany to still be denied membership in

5329-643: Was the first mayor to have a female deputy, Marion W. La Follette , and the first to have a racially integrated staff, his appeal did not extend to most of the city's large African-American population. Disaffection with high unemployment and racism contributed to the Watts Riots of August 11–17, 1965. Yorty's administration was criticized for failing to cooperate with efforts to improve conditions in neighborhoods such as Watts , but he accused other leaders of raising false hopes and of action by Communist agitators, having always categorically rejected any criticism of

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