Leonard E. "Lee" Timberlake (1896–1973) was a British-born American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1969. Before entering politics, Timberlake was a railroad employee and travel bureau owner. Biography Timberlake was born May 3, 1896, in Basingstoke, England, the son of F. and Emily Timberlake. After completing high school, Timberlake took a year of industrial engineering at the University of Southern California. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Los Angeles Breakfast Club. He was a Methodist and a Democrat. He lived in Los Angeles between 1920 and 1923 and also after 1938. Timberlake began his working career between 1916 and 1920 as a railroad agent for the Canadian National Railway. His succeeding jobs were passenger agent, Union Pacific Railway, 1920–22; accountant, Bingham and Garfield Railway, 1922–23; accountant, Union Pacific, 1923; chief clerk, Nevada Northern Railway, 1923–27; general auditor, Illinois Terminal Railway system, 1927–32. He next went into the travel industry, with a half interest in the Southern California Tourist Bureau, after 1932. Later he was full owner of the agency, which became the largest independent travel bureau in California. He also worked at times for the Kennecott Copper Company and Illinois Power and Light. His first marriage resulted in two daughters, Betty Strebe and Beverly Watson. His second marriage was on May 7, 1933, to Cynthia Wyatt Mitchell of Atlanta, Georgia. They also had two children, Cynthia Lynn and Carole Ann. They lived at 10210 South Hobart Boulevard in Gramercy Park. He died July 17, 1973. His last address was Hemet, California. City Council Timberlake was one of the longest-serving council members, "The length of service of the 73-year-old council dean is matched only by that of former Councilman John C. Holland, who retired July 1, 1967, at [age] 74," Erwin Baker of the Los Angeles Times wrote when Timberlake announced his retirement in May 1969. As City Council president, Timberlake may have set a record as acting mayor, Baker wrote, because of Mayor Samuel Yorty's extensive travels outside the country. Elections Timberlake first ran for the Los Angeles City Council District 6 seat against the incumbent, Earl C. Gay, in 1943 and lost, 8,841 for Gay to 8,404 for Timberlake. In that election, Gay's campaign raised a question as to why Timberlake had waited until 1940 to become an American citizen, to which Timberlake replied that