Glenn M. Anderson
Office 1Chair of House Transportation Committee
Term start 1March 25, 1988
Term end 1January 3, 1991
Predecessor 1James J. Howard
Successor 1Robert A. Roe
Office 2Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from California
Term start 2January 3, 1969
Term end 2January 3, 1993
Predecessor 2Cecil R. King
Successor 2Steve Horn (Redistricting)
Constituency 217th district (1969–73)
35th district (1973–75)
32nd district (1975–93)
Order 337th
Office 3Lieutenant Governor of California
Term start 3January 5, 1959
Term end 3January 2, 1967
Governor 3Pat Brown
Predecessor 3Harold J. Powers
Successor 3Robert Finch
State assembly 4California
District 446th
Term 4January 4, 1943 – January 8, 1951
Predecessor 4Jack Tenney
Successor 4Charles Edward Chapel
Office 5Mayor of Hawthorne
Term start 51940
Term end 51943
Birth dateFebruary 21, 1913
Birth placeHawthorne, California, U.S.
Death dateDecember 13, 1994 (aged 81)
Death placeLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeGreen Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
PartyDemocratic
AllegianceUnited States of America
BranchUnited States Army
Service years1943–1945
BattlesWorld War II

Glenn Malcolm Anderson (February 21, 1913 – December 13, 1994) was an American politician. He was the 37th lieutenant governor of California and later represented Southern Los Angeles County (including Carson, San Pedro, and Long Beach) in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic Party.[1]

Early life and education

Anderson was born on February 21, 1913, in Hawthorne, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles in 1936. He worked as a real estate developer and served in the United States Army as an infantry sergeant during World War II.

Career

California Legislature

Anderson was mayor of Hawthorne from 1940 to 1943 and a member of the California State Assembly for the 46th district from 1943 to 1951.

Lieutenant Governor

He served as lieutenant governor of California from 1959 to 1967, a tenure most notable for his actions relating to the 1965 Watts riots. With Governor Pat Brown vacationing in Greece when the riots broke out in August, 1965, Anderson served as acting governor. When Los Angeles officials urgently requested state support to quell the riots, Anderson waited five hours before granting approval. The subsequent controversy dogged Anderson for the remainder of his career and was a major factor in his 1966 defeat at the hands of Republican Robert Finch.[2]

U.S. House

Anderson was first elected to the 91st Congress in 1968 and served 12 terms from 1969 to 1993. As a former real estate developer, he successfully sought a seat on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, of which he would become chair in 1988. His House colleagues claimed that Anderson's abilities slipped dramatically in the late 1980s because of his advancing age. State Democratic leaders went so far as to suggest reapportionment in 1991 that would carve up Anderson's harbor area district. He was removed as Committee Chairman after only 33 months.[2]

He decided not to run for re-election in 1992.

Personal life

Anderson underwent multiple heart bypass surgery in 1988.[2] He died on December 13, 1994, at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital Pavilion. The cause of death was complications of Alzheimer's disease.[1] He was 81.

He is interred in Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

The Los Angeles Harbor ship channel is named in his honor, and the Interstate 105 in South Los Angeles is named the "Glenn M. Anderson Freeway".

References

  1. ^ "Anderson, Glenn Malcolm". Who Was Who in America, 1993–1996, vol. 11. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p. 6. ISBN 0837902258.
  2. ^ "Former Lt. Gov., Congressman Glenn M. Anderson Dies at 81 : Politician: Longtime South Bay figure leaves legacy of public works projects. - Los Angeles Times". Archived December 9, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 18, 2020.