death_date death_place predecessor birth_place successor nationality profession office party birth_date order term_start image article_title term_end name
april 18 , 1924 los angeles , california edwin m. capps iowa city , iowa john l. bacon usa american banker mayor of san diego republican july 16 , 1865 17th mdy 1917 5 7 louis j wilde.jpg louis j. wilde
 mdy 1921 5 2 louis j. wilde
louis j. wilde

louis j. wilde -lrb- july 16 , 1865 -- april 18 , 1924 -rrb- was an american banker and republican politician from california .
wilde was born in iowa city , iowa in 1865 .
after living in rochester , ny , philadelphia , and st. paul , minnesota , he moved to san diego in 1903 .
he intended to spend only a winter in san diego , but liked it so well that he stayed and went into the real estate and banking businesses .
in san diego he organized four banks , built the city 's first modern apartment house , built the pickwick theatre , raised money to complete unfinished u. s. grant hotel , and in 1914 successfully argued for renaming d street to broadway .
he served as mayor of san diego during 1917 -- 1921 .
the 1917 race was a classic growth-vs .
- beautification debate .
wilde argued for more business development ; his opponent , department store owner george marston , argued for better city planning with more open space and grand boulevards .
wilde called marston `` geranium george '' , painting him as unfriendly to business .
wilde 's campaign slogan was `` more smokestacks '' , and during the campaign he drew a great smokestack belching smoke on a truck through the city streets .
the phrase `` smokestacks vs. geraniums '' is still used in san diego to characterize this type of debate .
wilde won , with the support of unions and business , and was re-elected two years later .
as mayor , wilde was outspoken and not afraid to say what he thought , and had a sense of humor .
whenever he spoke , he drew crowds .
during a council meeting in 1920 he grabbed a gavel and lunged at a councilman , scolding him for bereating a reporter , and mashed his own finger and injured his leg .
after that date he refused to enter city hall .
he conducted business through a messenger from the u. s. grant hotel .
in 1920 wilde organized the community oil well company to drill for oil in san diego county .
no oil was found , and the san diego `` sun '' 's investigation accused the venture of improper spending .
wilde decided to not run for a third term in 1921 , under a cloud of scandal .
he left town and moved to los angeles , where he died in 1924 .
wilde had two children -lrb- donald wilde and richard edward wilde , sr. -rrb- by his first wife , mamie shaffer and two children -lrb- john d. wilde , sr. -lrb- jack -rrb- and lucile wilde -rrb- by his second wife , frances o'brien .
