Lionel B. Cade (August 14, 1918 – April 3, 1990) was an American accountant who served as mayor of
Compton, CaliforniaCompton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, south-southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1889. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 93,493....
, from 1977 until 1981.
Lionel B. Cade was born in
Hardin County, TexasHardin County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. In 2000, its population was 48,073. The county is named for a family from Liberty County, Texas. The seat of the county is Kountze...
on August 14, 1918, the son of Charley and Virginia (Slocum) Cade. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was a member of the U.S. Army's first black paratroop battalion, the 555th. He also served his country during the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
.
Cade earned a bachelor's degree at the
University of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco is a selective, private, Jesuit university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco...
and a master's from
USCThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
.
When the Rev. Raul Imschweiler did not seek re-election to the Compton City Council in 1961, Cade ran for his seat.
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Lionel B. Cade (August 14, 1918 – April 3, 1990) was an American accountant who served as mayor of
Compton, CaliforniaCompton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, south-southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1889. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 93,493....
, from 1977 until 1981.
Biography
Lionel B. Cade was born in
Hardin County, TexasHardin County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. In 2000, its population was 48,073. The county is named for a family from Liberty County, Texas. The seat of the county is Kountze...
on August 14, 1918, the son of Charley and Virginia (Slocum) Cade. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was a member of the U.S. Army's first black paratroop battalion, the 555th. He also served his country during the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
.
Cade earned a bachelor's degree at the
University of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco is a selective, private, Jesuit university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco...
and a master's from
USCThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
.
When the Rev. Raul Imschweiler did not seek re-election to the Compton City Council in 1961, Cade ran for his seat. He lost to Robert Kerr by just 413 votes. In 1964, he was appointed to the Council, one of the first African-Americans to serve there. He was elected to a four-year term the following year and reelected in 1969. He would be a member of the council until 1973, when he made his first attempt as mayor. He finished third. Despite that defeat, he was successful on his second try in 1977.
An
accountantAn Accountant is a practitioner of accountancy, which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions....
by profession, Cade ordered an audit of the city's finances soon after he took office. He discovered that the city had a deficit of $2 million. As a result of that finding, Cade initiated a series of cost-cutting measures that wiped out the debt within one year. Unfortunately, in 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, an initiative that severely reduced property tax revenues. Since much of the fat was already eliminated from Compton's budget, it was one of the most hardest hit by the measure.
In his 1981 reelection campaign, Cade was soundly defeated by his opponent,
Walter R. Tucker, Jr.Walter R. Tucker, Jr. was a dentist who served nine years as the Mayor of Compton, California.- Biography :Walter Rayford Tucker, Jr. was born in Oklahoma. He became a dentist and moved to Compton, California in the 1950s...
, a local dentist. Cade later moved to
StocktonStockton, the county seat of San Joaquin County, is currently the 13th largest city in the U.S. state of California in terms of population and one of the largest in terms of area in the Central Valley. Stockton is located in Northern California south of Sacramento and north of Modesto...
, where he spent the remainder of his life.
He died April 3, 1990. He had suffered from
emphysemaEmphysema is a lung disease, characterized by an abnormal, permanent enlargement of air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles. The disease is coupled with the destruction of walls, but without obvious fibrosis...
.