Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biography Note on Alexander Pope
Biography Note on Philip E. Watson
Bibliography
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Alexander Pope Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1880-2000
Bulk dates: 1978-1990
Collection Number: mssPope papers
Creator:
Pope, Alexander, 1929-
Extent:
369 boxes (approximately 154 linear feet)
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers and administrative files of lawyer and Los Angeles County Assessor Alexander Pope (born
1929), chiefly
dating from the late 1970s-1990.
The collection chiefly contains materials related to the Los Angeles County Assessor's office, materials from the offices
of the California Citizens
Budget Commission, and Pope's personal files. Notably, the collection includes materials related to the implementation
of
Proposition 13 (1978), which limited property taxation.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Boxes 282, 283 are SEALED. Originals of redacted documents can be found in Pope Box A, which is also closed.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Alexander Pope Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Gift from Alexander Pope: the initial donation, including all the formal Assessor's Office material, was made January 27,
1996.
Two additional donations of personal material were made at some point over the next three years.
The final donation of California Citizens Budget Commission material was received in September, 2000.
Biography Note on Alexander Pope
Alexander Hillhouse Pope (born 1929) received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1952.
Although he initially claimed he had no intention of practicing law, Pope did just that for
more than twenty years in Los Angeles, California, while continuing his activities with the
Democratic Party and local community associations. Pope's tireless campaigning and
volunteerism were rewarded when he was appointed Governor Pat Brown's Legislative
Secretary (1959-1961). At the community level, Pope was President of the Westchester
Mental Health Clinic (1956-67) at a time when some factions still associated
psychiatry with communist infiltration. He was also a consultant for the
implementation of the McCone Commission Report, which examined the causes and
effects of the Watts riots in 1965. Additionally, Pope served on the California
Highway Commission (1966-1970) and was a member of the Los Angeles Board of Airport
Commissioners (1973-1977).
After working in a gubernatorial administration that elevated public education by
leaps and bounds and oversaw a litany of public works and services, Alex Pope became
a pivotal player in applying a new law that eroded the revenue for such services:
Proposition 13. No sooner was Pope the first local politician to oppose the
initiative, than he was appointed Assessor of Los Angeles County, the "biggest
property tax agency in the world," and had to enforce the will of the voters: June
8, 1978 -- the New Deal and the Great Society were now in the distant past. Pope put
aside his opinions and implemented Proposition 13 "within specified time limitations
and with a high level of efficiency," according to L.A. County Chief Administrative
Officer, Harry L. Hufford.
Proposition 13 was the threshold event for an era of economic belt-tightening and its
effects permeated intergovernmental relations as well as local municipal budgets.
Pope's endeavors to correct problem areas of Proposition 13 came through litigation
and his legislative work with Assemblyman Dave Elder even after Pope left the
Assessor's Office in 1986. In 1997 he became Executive Director of the California
Citizens Budget Commission which published comprehensive reports on reforming the
state budget process and addressing the state's health care needs.
Biography Note on Philip E. Watson
Philip E. Watson was Los Angeles County Assessor from 1963 to 1977. A World War II
pilot, he studied accounting at UCLA, became a field appraiser for the county and
then deputy assessor. Watson efforts to reform the assessor's office and limit
property taxes were sidetracked when Baxter Ward and other members of the County
Board of Supervisors accused him of unfair assessment practices, favoring big
corporations over small homeowners. These accusations culminated in an audit and
report by former Watergate investigator Carmine Bellino, which was highly critical,
but ultimately found no wrong-doing. This investigation and Watson's health were
deciding factors in his decision to step down from the Assessor's Office in 1977.
Watson died in 1986 at age 62 in Rancho Mirage, California.
Bibliography
Adams, James R.
Secrets of the Tax Revolt (San Diego, Calif.:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c.1984).
Kuttner, Robert.
Revolt of the Haves - Tax Rebellions and Hard
Times
(New York: Simon and Schuster, c1980).
Richter, Paul.
California and the American Tax Revolt - Proposition 13
Five Years Later
(Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, c.
1984).
Shires, Michael A.
Has Proposition 13 Delivered?: The changing tax burden
in California
(San Francisco, Calif.: Public Policy Institute, c.
1998).
Scope and Content
This collection is divided into three series, with approximately 45 percent of the
materials consisting of Pope's Personal files, 34 percent from the County Assessor's
Office and the remaining 21 percent from the offices of the California Citizens
Budget Commission. The bulk of the materials are administrative in nature and
format, such as letters, memos and reports. There is a considerable amount of
political ephemera, legislation, litigation and published research documents, as
well as photographs. Far and wide, the materials related to the implementation of
Proposition 13 are the highlight of the collection.
Individual series descriptions appear below:
Series 1: L.A. County Assessor's Office, 1880-1992
The majority of these files were created by various division chiefs and deal with
administrative issues, personnel and valuation of property. Concentrations of
interest begin in the Philip Watson era with his field deputy's efforts to write a history
of the Assessor's Office, followed by the Bellino audit report and Watson's response
to this scrutiny. There are also litigation files, Assessment Appeals Board (AAB)
cases, sample forms, departmental activities, work plans, status reports, statistics
and California State Board of Equalization documents. There are administrative files
from the Pope era regarding such issues as Proposition 13's implementation, split
roll, conflict of interests and assessment practices.
Los Angeles County Assessor's Office staff featured in the collection include:
- Robert H. McNeill, Jr., Assessor Watson's Field Deputy, assigned the task of writing
the history of the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office.
- Glenn Quinn: at times, Assistant Assessor and Director of Assessment Services and
Chief, Residential Division, served both Watson and Pope administrations
- Paul M. Hannah, Assistant Assessor, Director of Valuations, Assessment Services and
Assessor's Operations, served both Watson and Pope administrations
- Sherrill D. Luke, Chief Deputy Assessor during the Pope era; became a judge for the
Los Angeles Municipal and Superior courts.
- Leonard J. Wheeler, Director, Real Property Appraisals; Valuations
Post-Pope assessors marginally represented in this collection:
- John J. Lynch, 1986-1990
- Kenneth P. Hahn, 1990-2000 (no relation to the Los Angeles
City Council member)
Series 2: Pope: Personal, 1923-1998
Here is found a plethora of campaign materials and administrative documents, the bulk
of which come from Pope's own campaigns for assessor, L.A. County Supervisor, 4th
District, and his run for the State Board of Equalization. Pope was involved in many
other politicians' campaigns, with the most activity involving Adlai Stevenson's
presidential runs, Pat Brown for Governor, Pat Russell for LA City Council, and
Jerome R. Waldie for Governor.
Formats include correspondence, invitations, filing papers, accounting materials,
funding disclosure forms, voting statistics, campaign ephemera and mailers, press
kits, agendas, speeches and debate materials. The highlight in this area may very
well be an Eisenhower-Nixon comic book. Pope was involved with local Democratic
clubs, but also attended national and state conventions and related materials are
fully represented here.
Pope was a consultant for the implementation of the McCone Commission report on the
Los Angeles riots of 1965 and documents and articles cover related topics such as
racism, welfare reform, job programs and business development. There is a wide range
of transportation-related documents and publications from the years Pope served on
the California Highway Commission (featuring the Mineral King development, Long
Beach Freeway extension through South Pasadena) and the Los Angeles Board of Airport
Commissioners.
During his years as L.A. County Assessor, Pope was active in developing and promoting
legislation to address problem areas of Proposition 13, and other property valuation
issues which are featured in the Legal and Legislative sub-series, along with
litigation documents. Other Pope activities of note involve the California
Assessor's Association (CAA) and the International Association of Assessing Officers
(IAAO). Pope was active in a wide range of community-based organizations including
the Westchester Mental Health Clinic, the YMCA and the Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Pope's lecture materials and handouts from his trip to China are also in this
series, as well as his chronological and administrative files from his law
practice.
California Citizens Budget Commission, 1917-2000
The California Citizens Budget Commission first met in 1993 under the auspices of the
Center for Governmental Studies. It was a blue-ribbon panel of twenty-three
non-partisan community leaders who had the goal of reforming the state's budget
process and later, the state's health care system. The series consists substantially
of research articles on budget and health care reform and many drafts of the
Commission's reports. Administrative files were accumulated by Pope and other CCBC
staff including research analyst Karen Klabin, research associate Camelia Siminescu
and secretary Chanel Young.
Arrangement
The Collection is organized into three series, generally based on provenance, and
further divided into sub-series:
Series 1: L.A. County Assessor's Office, 1880-1992 (bulk 1967-1986) (Boxes 1-123)
- 1. Assessor Watson, Boxes 1-19 (1880-1987; bulk: 1973-1978)
- 2. Assessor Pope - Administrative, Boxes 19-25 (1969-1986)
- 3. Watson and Pope Staff, Boxes 26-91 (1938-1988; bulk: 1978-1986)
- 4. Assessor Pope, Boxes 92-115 (1948-1991; bulk 1978-1986)
- 5. Assessors Lynch and Hahn, Boxes 116-123 (1975-1992; bulk 1987-1989)
Series 2: Pope: Personal, 1923-1998 (bulk 1962-1988) (Boxes 124-289)
- 1. Pope Campaigns, Boxes 124-154 (1974-1994; bulk dates 1978-1986)
- 2. Other Campaigns, Candidates, Boxes 155-177 (1949-1993)
- 3. Democratic Party, Boxes 178-186 (1950-1992)
- 4. McCone Commission, Boxes 187-193 (1965-1992; bulk: 1965-1967)
- 5. Transportation, Boxes 194-207 (1945-1989; bulk for Calif. Highway Commission: 1965-67; bulk for Airport Commission: 1973-1987)
- 6. Assessor's Office, Boxes 208-224 (1967-1998; bulk 1978-1987)
- 7. Legal and Legislative, Boxes 225-247 (1959-1998; bulk 1978-1990)
- 8. Issues and Organizations, Boxes 238-257 (1923-1992; bulk 1957-1988)
- 9. Associations, Nonprofits, Boxes 258- 272 (1955-1992; bulk: 1983-1988)
- 10. Personal, Boxes 273-283 (1949-1993; bulk: 1987-1988)
- 11. Research and Development, Boxes 284-289
Series 3: California Citizens Budget Commission, 1917-2000 (bulk 1995-2000) (Boxes 290-369)
- 1. Administration
- 2. Research
- 3. Reports, Publications
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Bellino, Carmine S. (Carmine Salvatore),
1905-1990.
Bradley, Tom, 1917-
Brown, Edmund G. (Edmund Gerald),
1905-.
Dana, Deane.
Jarvis, Howard.
Kefauver, Estes, 1903-1963.
McCone, John A. (John Alex),
1902-1991.
Post, A. Alan, (August Alan),
1914-.
Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing),
1900-1965.
Waldie, Jerome R.
Watson, Philip E. (Philip Eugene),
1921-.
Westen, Tracy.
Wheat, Frank, 1921-.
Pope, Alexander, 1929-
-- Archives.
California. Department. of Health
Services -- Archives.
California. Division of
Highways -- Archives.
California. Governor's Commission on the Los
Angeles Riots.
California. Highway Commission.
California. State Board of
Equalization.
International Association of Assessing
Officers.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Board of Airport
Commissioners.
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Board of
Supervisors.
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Office of
Assessor.
Los Angeles Theatre Center.
California Citizens Budget
Commission -- Archives. .
California Taxpayers'
Association.
Center for Governmental Studies (Los
Angeles, Calif.)
Central City Association of Los Angeles
(Calif.)
Democratic National Committee
(U.S.)
Democratic Party (Calif.)
Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public
Affairs.
League of Women Voters of Los
Angeles.
Los Angeles Actors' Theatre.
Mayer, Brown and Platt.
Medi-Cal Policy Institute.
University of Chicago. Law School -- Alumni
and alumnae -- Archives.
Brown, Jerry, 1938-.
African Americans -- Crimes against -- California -- Los
Angeles.
Airports management -- California.
Budget process -- Calfornia.
Campaign literature -- California -- 20th century.
County government -- California -- Los Angeles
County -- Archives.
Health care financing -- California.
Health care reform.
Insurance, Health.
Intergovernmental fiscal relations -- United States.
International economic relations.
Legislation -- California.
Managed care plans (Medical care)
Medical care -- California.
Medicaid.
Medicare.
Mental health counseling -- California.
Nonprofit organizations -- California.
Political campaigns -- California.
Political parties -- Rules and practice -- California.
Poor -- Medical care -- California.
Property tax law -- California.
Property tax relief -- California.
Racism -- California -- Los Angeles.
Real property -- California.
Real property tax -- California -- 20th century.
Tax and expenditure limitations -- California.
Tax assessment -- California -- Los Angeles County.
Transportation -- California -- 20th century.
Watts Riot, Los Angeles, Calif., 1965 -- Sources.
California -- Politics and government -- 20th
century -- Sources.
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th
century -- Sources.
California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Mineral King (Calif.)
Westchester (Los Angeles,
Calif.) -- History -- Sources.
Genres and Forms of Material
Professional papers--California--20th century.
Personal papers--California--20th century.
Tax records -- California -- Los Angeles County.
Index Terms Related to this Collection
Bellino, Carmine S. (Carmine Salvatore),
1905-1990.
Bradley, Tom, 1917-
Brown, Edmund G, (Edmund Gerald), 1905-
Brown, Jerry, 1938-
Dana, Deane.
Jarvis, Howard.
Kefauver, Estes, 1903-1963.
McCone, John A. (John Alex), 1902-1991.
Post, A. Alan, (August Alan), 1914-.
Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965.
Waldie, Jerome R.
Watson, Philip E. (Philip Eugene), 1921-.
Westen, Tracy.
Wheat, Frank, 1921-.
California Citizens Budget Commission.
California. Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles
Riots.
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Office of Assessor.