The Political Graveyard: Americans for Democratic Action, politicians, California

PoliticalGraveyard.com

Americans for Democratic Action
Politician members in California

Amerigo Bozzani (1883-1964) — of Pasadena, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Modena, Italy, October 2, 1883. Democrat. Automobile dealer; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1936, 1940 (alternate), 1944 (alternate), 1948, 1956. Catholic. Italian ancestry. Member, Freemasons; Shriners; Elks; Americans for Democratic Action. Died in June, 1964 (age 80 years, 0 days). Burial location unknown.

Jeffery Cohelan (1914-1999) — of Berkeley, Alameda County, Calif. Born in San Francisco, Calif., June 24, 1914. Democrat. Secretary-treasurer, Local 302, Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees union, 1942-58; U.S. Representative from California 7th District, 1959-71; defeated in primary, 1970; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960, 1964. Member, Council on Foreign Relations; Moose; Eagles; Teamsters Union; Americans for Democratic Action. Died, of Parkinson's disease and cancer, in Washington, D.C., February 15, 1999 (age 84 years, 236 days). Burial location unknown.

June Oppen Degnan (c.1918-2001) — also known as June Degnan — of Ross, Marin County, Calif.; San Francisco, Calif. Born about 1918. Democrat. Member of California Democratic State Central Committee, 1956; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1972. Female. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Author of what David Broder called "Degnan's Law": "Anybody who deserves to be president of the United States ought to be able, in a half-hour conversation, to express one thought I had not already thought of myself.". Died in San Francisco, Calif., September 14, 2001 (age about 83 years). Burial location unknown.

Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) — also known as Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg — of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Macon, Bibb County, Ga., April 5, 1901. Son of Edouard G. Hesselberg and Lena (Shackelford) Hesselberg; married, April 5, 1931, to Helen Gahagan. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1940; served in the U.S. Army during World War II; Actor, producer, director of many motion pictures; worked in radio, television, and Broadway. Jewish and Scottish ancestry. Member, Screen Actors Guild; Americans for Democratic Action; American Civil Liberties Union. Died, of pneumonia and cardiac complications, in Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., August 4, 1981 (age 80 years, 121 days). Cremated.

William Donlon Edwards (b. 1915) — also known as Don Edwards — of San Jose, Santa Clara County, Calif. Born in San Jose, Santa Clara County, Calif., January 6, 1915. Democrat. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S. Representative from California, 1963-95 (9th District 1963-75, 10th District 1975-93, 16th District 1993-95); delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1964, 1968, 1988; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984. Unitarian. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Still living as of 2009.

See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — votes in Congress from the Washington Post — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier

Harry Girvetz (1910-1974) — of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, Calif. Born in 1910. Democrat. University professor; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1956. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Died in 1974 (age about 64 years). Burial location unknown.

William Vann Rogers, Jr. (1911-1993) — also known as Will Rogers, Jr. — of Culver City, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in New York, October 20, 1911. Son of Will Rogers (1879-1935; humorist) and Betty (Blake) Rogers; married, May 26, 1941, to Collier Connell (died 1976); brother of Jimmy Rogers (1915-2000; actor). Democrat. U.S. Representative from California 16th District, 1943-44; resigned 1944; candidate for U.S. Senator from California, 1946; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1948. Cherokee Indian ancestry. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Died, from a self-inflicted gunshot, in in Tubac, Santa Cruz County, Ariz., July 9, 1993 (age 81 years, 262 days). Interment at Tubac Cemetery, Tubac, Ariz.

James Roosevelt (1907-1991) — also known as Jimmy Roosevelt — of Brookline, Norfolk County, Mass.; Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, Calif.; Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., December 23, 1907. Second cousin five times removed of Nicholas Roosevelt, Jr.; second great-grandnephew of James I. Roosevelt; great-grandnephew of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt; grandnephew of Theodore Roosevelt; son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; first cousin once removed of Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and William Sheffield Cowles; married, June 4, 1930, to Betsey Maria Cushing (1908-1998; divorced 1940; who later married John Hay Whitney); married, April 14, 1941, to Romelle Theresa Schneider (divorced 1955); married, July 2, 1956, to Gladys Irene Owens (divorced 1969); married, October 3, 1969, to Mary Lena Winskill; brother of Elliott Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.. Democrat. Insurance business; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1936; served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1948, 1952 (alternate), 1956, 1960, 1964; member of Democratic National Committee from California, 1948-52; candidate for Governor of California, 1950; U.S. Representative from California 26th District, 1955-65; candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, Calif., 1965. Episcopalian. Member, American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars; Americans for Democratic Action. Died, from complications of a stroke and Parkinson's disease, in Newport Beach, Orange County, Calif., August 13, 1991 (age 83 years, 233 days). Interment at Pacific View Memorial Park, Newport Beach, Calif.

		See also Livingston-Seymour-Lee-Clay family of New York
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Internet Movie Database profile

Deborah A. Vollmer (b. 1948) — of California; Chevy Chase, Montgomery County, Md. Born January 15, 1948. Daughter of Erwin P. Vollmer and Aline Fruhauf Vollmer. Democrat. Lawyer; candidate for U.S. Representative from California 21st District, 1992, 1996; candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Maryland 8th District, 1998, 2000, 2002. Female. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Still living as of 2002.

Horace Jeremiah Voorhis (1901-1984) — also known as H. 'Jerry' Voorhis — of San Dimas, Los Angeles County, Calif. Born in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kan., April 6, 1901. Democrat. Candidate for California state assembly, 1934; U.S. Representative from California 12th District, 1937-47; defeated, 1946; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1940. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Died, of emphysema, at Claremont Manor retirement home, Claremont, Los Angeles County, Calif., September 11, 1984 (age 83 years, 158 days). Interment at Mountain View Cemetery, Altadena, Calif.

See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page

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