State and national Randall was a member of the
California State Assembly from 1911 to 1912. In 1914, he was elected to the
United States Congress as a member of the
Prohibition Party. Randall won 28,097 votes (30.9%), Congressman
Charles W. Bell won 27,560 votes (30.3%), Republican Frank C. Roberts won 25,176 (27.7%), and Socialist Henry Hart won 10,084 votes (11.09%). Taking advantage of California election laws at the time, Randall was re-elected in 1916 as the nominee of the Prohibition,
Democratic,
Republican, and
Progressive parties defeating Charles W. Bell (running as an independent candidate) by the margin of 58,826 to 33,270 (57.8% to 32.7%) with 9,661 votes for the
Socialist Party candidate. On Apr 5, 1917, Randall voted against declaring war on Germany. Randall voted yes to authorize the 18th amendment and enact prohibition. Randall was re-elected by a 38,782 to 31,689 (55% to 45%) margin over a Republican in 1918. Randall voted for the 19th amendment enacting women's suffrage in Congress. Randall was defeated for re-election in 1920 by
Charles F. Van de Water, by margin of 62,952 votes (60%) to 36,675 votes. Randall ran unsuccessfully in 1922 (45,794 votes and 41%), 1924 (67,735 votes and 36% as a candidate of the Prohibition, Socialist, and Democratic parties), 1926 (61,719 votes and 38%), 1934 (18,760 votes and 14% as a Progressive), and 1940 (36,406 votes and 22% as a candidate of the Prohibition and Progressive parties). In 1924 Randall was for a time the candidate for U.S. vice-president on the
Ku Klux Klan-sponsored
American Party ticket. He withdrew in August in order to concentrate on a race for Congress in California on both the American and Prohibition party tickets. He was also an independent candidate for the United States Senate from California in 1928, receiving 5% of the vote. Republican incumbent
Hiram Johnson was re-elected overwhelmingly with 71% of the vote and Democrat Minor Moore received 23%.
Los Angeles City in 1928. Randall was on the Park Commission 1909–11 and the Planning Commission 1911–12. Randall was the first person to represent the
Los Angeles City Council District 1 under the new
city charter of 1925. He served until 1933.
Elections 1925 Randall ran against four other candidates in the primary election and came in second. The results were: Charles T. Wardlaw, 3,106; Randall, 2,851; Edgar Lampton, 1,593; Arthur M. Fellows, 627; and Clara L. McDonald, 328. Randall was elected in the June final vote, 4,292 votes against Wardlaw's 3,719.
1926 The council member faced a recall election in September, the first in the city under the new charter, but the attempt failed by a vote of 3,901 to 2,595. Names on the ballot to succeed him in case the recall succeeded were John W. Cooke, assistant city engineer stationed in Van Nuys, and Greeley Kolts.
1927 Opposition continued before the May primary election because of Randall's handling of a
San Fernando Road improvement district, his reputed delaying of the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge project and his changing of historic street names in the Valley, the main complaint being a change from William Tecumseh Sherman|[General William Tecumseh] Sherman Way to Van Nuys Boulevard. He was elected in the primary, the votes being Randall, 4,691; John E. Lambert, who had the
Times endorsement, 2,598; Frank W. Berkshire, 1,676; and Clara L. McDonald, 233.
1929 Candidates in the May primary were Randall; Truitt Hughes, 44, retired lawyer and rancher, the choice of the
Times; Charles G. Young, 40, an attorney; William C. McColl, 34, purchasing agent and building engineer; and Estelle C. Holman, former employee of Randall and former member of the City Planning Commission. The primary results were Randall, 4,734; McColl, 2,247; Young, 1,346; Hughes, 1,025, and Holman, 384. In the June final, Randall won over McColl, 8,529 votes to 7,375.
1931 Randall won in the May primary, 5,856 against 3,732 for William C. McColl and 888 for Frank W. Rice.
1933 Randall came in second in the May primary. The results were:
Jim Wilson, 4,958; Randall, 4,889; Mark C. Sutton, 3,653; Sterling Martin, 1,661; George C. Audet, 1,074; Ray A. Schafer, 950; George Mozee, 835; and George E. Menner, 728. In the June final, he lost by almost a 2–1 margin, 15,693 votes for Wilson to Randall's 8,375.
Council presidency Randall was elected
council president on July 1, 1931, by a bare majority, and promptly "declared war in no uncertain terms" upon
Mayor Porter, three
Water and Power commissioners, the "power trust." the "patent paving trust" and the seven council members who voted against him.
Controversies 1925 Angry
San Fernando Valley residents verbally attacked Randall when he withdrew funds that had been set aside for (1) paving and improvement of Canoga, Devonshire and Chatsworth Streets and (2) building a new road from the Valley through
Beverly Glen to the main part of Los Angeles. He said he wanted the adjoining property owners, not the city, to pay for the work.
1926 He was accused by Charles C. Grider, president of the First Councilmanic District Civic League, of failing to keep his campaign promises to (1) immediately construct a 40-mile stretch of Riverside Drive and a "truck speedway," (2) begin construction of a high school in the district, (3) build bridges across the
Los Angeles River at Fletcher Avenue, Alessandro Street, Glendale Boulevard and Dayton Street, (4) secure "immediate removal of the Los Feliz Hospital and the dairy at the foot of Alessandro Street," (5) build a school in West Atwater and enlarge the school in East Atwater and (5) widen Glendale Boulevard, Alessandro and Riverside Drive to 100 feet.
1927 Randall fought against the removal from the new five-member city Planning Commission of his secretary, Estelle C. Holman, who had been appointed by Mayor
George Cryer but who was ruled ineligible because she had not been a member of the former 50-member commission under the old city charter.
1928 He was overruled by the council in his desire to install seven miles of ornamental lighting posts on San Fernando Road, a move that was endorsed by the Municipal Art Commission.
1931 Randall at first voted in favor of having the city attorney appeal a judge's decision ordering the city to stop the practice of segregating its swimming pools by race—a practice that had been going on since July 30, 1925. Randall had vigorously opposed the judge's ruling, stating that it was "so sweeping" that the Playground and Recreation Commission "will not be able to designate the days when Boy Scouts can go to the mountain camps. Why, the board can't even set separate days for men and women to bathe." But just the next week, he switched his vote to a new majority decision, favoring integration, which prompted Council Member
Evan Lewis—who favored the appeal—to ask the reason. Randall replied that a Negro politician had "conferred" with him and "convinced" him of his error. == Electoral history ==