John C. Packard

John C. Packard
Packard c. 1940
Chairman of the California
Industrial Welfare Commission
In office
November 15, 1940 – August 27, 1947
Preceded byArchibald Young
Succeeded byMae Carvell
Member of the California
Industrial Welfare Commission
In office
February 24, 1939 – August 27, 1947
Appointed byCulbert Olson
Earl Warren
Preceded byC. C. Craig
Succeeded byDaniel E. Koshland Sr.
Personal details
Born(1892-11-01)November 1, 1892
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJuly 28, 1956(1956-07-28) (aged 63)
Monrovia, California, U.S.
Political partySocialist (before 1934)
Democratic (after 1934)
Spouse
Rose Marie Hutchinson
​
​
(m. 1919)​
Children
  • John Jr.
  • Virginia
Alma materUniversity of Southern California School of Law
OccupationAttorney, politician
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War I

John Cooper Packard[1] (November 1, 1892 – July 28, 1956)[2] was an American attorney and politician who served on the California Industrial Welfare Commission from 1939[3] to 1947,[4] and as its chairman from 1940[5] to 1947.[6] He was for many years an attorney for Upton Sinclair,[7] and during the 1934 California gubernatorial election was part of the "inner circle of the EPIC campaign."[8]

Career

Packard entered politics as a Socialist; he was the party's candidate for State Assembly in the 67th district in 1914, coming in fourth place with 8.5% of the vote.[9] In 1924, he was an unsuccessful candidate for presidential elector, pledged to Senator Robert M. La Follette.[10] He was a delegate to the 17th National Convention of the Socialist Party in 1932,[11] during which he was elected to its National Executive Committee.[12] He was a member of the Party's Old Guard faction.[13]

Packard was acquainted with Upton Sinclair as early as 1916, when the latter spoke at a Intercollegiate Socialist Society symposium hosted at the Packard home.[14] The next year, the two men co-founded the Workers' Co-operative Association of Pasadena, with Packard as president and Sinclair as vice president.[15] When Sinclair was arrested for reciting the Bill of Rights during the 1923 San Pedro maritime strike, Packard acted as one of his attorneys.[16]

In 1933, Packard was approached by Sinclair to help him draft a political program for the 1934 gubernatorial election that would become the End Poverty in California plan.[17] After Sinclair won the Democratic primary, Packard resigned from the National Executive Committee and left the Socialist Party to become a New Dealer.[18] During the campaign, Packard secured a writ of prohibition from the California Supreme Court preventing the disenfranchisement of thousands of new Democratic voters.[2]

Although Sinclair ultimately lost the election, Packard remained active in the Democratic Party. He was a candidate for Congress in 1936, but lost the Democratic primary to incumbent John S. McGroarty by a margin of 58% to 29%.[19] Packard was later a delegate to the 1936 and 1940 Democratic National Conventions,[2] and during the 1940 presidential election was chairman of the Roosevelt/Wallace campaign in Southern California.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Former Democratic Party Leader Dies". Venice Vanguard. Venice. July 30, 1956. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Thurman, V. E. (1940). Who's Who in the New Deal (California edition). Los Angeles: New Deal Historical Society. p. 29. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  3. ^ "Olson Appoints Packard to Board". San Pedro News-Pilot. San Pedro. February 24, 1939. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "S.F. Man Named to Welfare Commission". Oakland Tribune. Oakland. August 27, 1947. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  5. ^ "L.A. Attorney Name Welfare Chairman". The San Bernardino Sun. San Bernardino. November 16, 1940. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  6. ^ "65 cents an hour wage base okehed for women, minors". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles. February 10, 1947. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  7. ^ "Upton Sinclair in L.A. prison". Los Angeles Express. Los Angeles. May 16, 1923. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Greg (1992). The Campaign of the Century. New York: Random House. p. 181.
  9. ^ Jordan, Frank C. (1914). Statement of Vote at General Election held on November 3, 1914 in the State of California. Sacramento: California State Printing Office. p. 36. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Jordan, Frank C. (1924). Statement of Vote at General Election held on November 4, 1924 in the State of California. Sacramento: California State Printing Office. p. 9. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  11. ^ "Delegates and Alternates to the 17th National Convention of the Socialist Party of America". marxists.org. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  12. ^ "The Newly Elected National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party". The New Leader. New York. May 28, 1932. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  13. ^ Johnpoll, Bernard K. (1970). Pacifist's progress; Norman Thomas and the decline of American Socialism. Chicago: Quadrangle Books. p. 93. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  14. ^ "Symposium with notables as speakers". Pasadena Star-News. Pasadena. July 24, 1916. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  15. ^ "Pasadena co-operatives hit H.C.L." Los Angeles Evening Record. Los Angeles. March 14, 1917. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  16. ^ Kimbrough, Hunter (June 9, 1923). "'Cut Out That Constitution Stuff'". Haldeman-Julius Weekly. Girard. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  17. ^ Sinclair, Upton (1933). I, Governor of California, And How I Ended Poverty. Hammond: W. B. Conkey Co. p. 21. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  18. ^ "Packard Quits as a Socialist". The Daily Report. Ontario. August 31, 1934. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  19. ^ California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at Primary Election held on August 25, 1936 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 6. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  20. ^ "John C. Packard, Former Political Chieftain, Dies". Valley Times. North Hollywood. July 30, 1956. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
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