William G. Bonelli

Infobox Person
born = "William G. Bonelli"

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birth_date = 1895
birth_place = Kingman, Arizona
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occupation = politician
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William G. Bonelli (November 9 1895 - 1970) was an American politician.

Early Life & Education

Son of a pioneer American family of Swiss-English descent, he was born in Kingman, Arizona. Bonelli moved to Los Angeles in 1912, entered the University of Southern California and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1916. He served in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army in 1918-19 and remained in the Reserve as a pilot until 1934.

Bonelli obtained his Master of Arts degree from Occidental College in 1923 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Southwestern University in 1924, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1925.

Career

He was Associate Professor of Political Science at Occidental College for seven years until 1929. His public service record began in 1927 when he was elected President of the Los Angeles City Council. In 1931 he was elected to the California State Assembly from the 54th District, and from 1934 to 1938 was Director of the State Department of Professional and Vocational Standards. He ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 1929 and 1932, but lost both times.

He was then appointed to the State Board of Equalization, the state agency perhaps best known for approving liquor licenses. Although Bonelli had been a long-time friend of "Los Angeles Times" publisher Harry Chandler, he ran afoul of Dorothy Buffum Chandler, Harry's daughter-in-law, who controlled the "Los Angeles Mirror", the city's afternoon tabloid in the late 1940s and 1950s. A series of articles in the "Mirror" in 1953 accused Bonelli of a long involvement in kickbacks on liquor licenses, bribery, and criminal associations.

Bonelli hired journalist Leo Katcher to ghost-write "Billion Dollar Blackjack: The Story of Corruption and the Los Angeles Times" (1954), in which Bonelli, as the ostensible author, defended himself and attacked the Chandlers. He also sued the "Los Angeles Mirror" for $1.15. million for libel, which ran front page smears calling him the Liquor Czar. With an impending grand jury indictment heading his way, Bonelli found exile in Mexico where he spent the rest of his life. He tried numerous times to have the court case moved from Los Angeles County to San Diego County because he said he could never get a fair trial in Los Angeles County because it was under the control of the "Times".

He had a running battle with the Los Angeles Police Department and Harrison Gray Otis's and Harry and Norman Chandler's "Times" — which he likened to "a black-jack, a bludgeon, a weapon to be used in behalf of their friends and against their enemies." In his exposé he accused the "Times" of all manner of malfeasance, from king-making and union-busting to subverting laws, violating civil rights and "aligning class against class, race against race, in an attempt to make bigger profits for themselves."

He was a large promoter of the Southern California aircraft industry and the Santa Clarita Valley. He purchased Hoot Gibson's rodeo venue in 1937 in Saugus, California and ran rodeos until in 1939 a quarter-mile dirt track was built; it was renamed Bonelli Ranch Stadium. It hosted a myriad of events, showcasing the popular midget cars and hot rods (roadsters). Later, the track was expanded to one-third mile. In 1954, the surface was paved and the name changed to Saugus Speedway. The paved track brought on the transition to stockcars, which was the primary format through 1995, when the track was closed.