Charles Bowles
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| 54th Mayor of Detroit, Michigan | |
| In office 1930–1930 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Lodge |
| Succeeded by | Frank Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 24, 1884 (1884-03-24) Yale, Michigan, US |
| Died | July 30, 1957 (1957-07-31) (aged 73) Detroit, Michigan, US |
| Political party | Republican[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
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Charles E. Bowles (March 24, 1884 – July 30, 1957) was a politician from Michigan, and served as Mayor of Detroit in 1930.
Charles Bowles was born on March 24, 1884, in Yale, Michigan, the son of Alfred and Mary Lutz Bowles.[2] He graduated from Ferris Institute (now Ferris State University) in 1904, received a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1908, and was admitted to the bar in 1909.[2] He married Ruth Davis in 1915; the couple had one daughter, Helen Ruth Bowles.[2]
Bowles entered politics from obscurity and to run for the mayor's office vacated by Frank Ellsworth Doremus's resignation in 1925.[3] He was openly supported by the Ku Klux Klan.[4][5] He ran third in the primary election behind John W. Smith and Joseph A. Martin, eliminating him from the ballot in the general election.[6] However, Bowles continued his campaign as a write-in candidate, and nearly won, losing only after 15,000 ballots were disqualified.[4] Bowles ran unsuccessfully for mayor once more the next year.[4][7] After his mayoral run, he obtained a position as judge on the recorder's court.[7] He was re-elected to his judgeship, but resigned to make one more run at the mayor's office in 1929.[7]
Bowles defeated John C. Lodge in the primary and John W. Smith in the general election to win office.[7] Bowles had campaigned as an anti-crime reformer, but when he fired Police Commissioner Harold Emmons after the latter had ordered a series of raids, he was accused of "tolerating lawlessness" and a recall election was instituted barely six months after he had entered office.[7][8] Multiple people campaigned for Bowles's recall, including radio commentator Jerry Buckley.[7] The recall was successful,[8] but on the morning after, Buckley was shot in a hotel lobby.[7] Although evidence later surfaced indicating the murder had more to do with underworld blackmail than politics, the murder of Buckley cast suspicion on Bowles.[7][9] Bowles ran in the mayoral election a month later, but lost to Frank Murphy.[10]
Later in his career he unsuccessfully ran for both the Michigan State House and U.S. House, as well as Detroit mayor.[11]
Charles Bowles died on July 30, 1957, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.[12]
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Detroit 1930 |
Succeeded by |
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