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Following the city election of 1940, a new city council hired
Cookingham to reform Kansas City’s administration. He took office on June 10, 1940. Cookingham entered office with the city $ 20 million in debt. Within six months, he had trimmed the payroll by 2,000 and within a year and a half he had
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was to thrive during a period of lax to non-existent enforcement of liquor laws. However, the era was also marked by patronage jobs and no-bid contracts, all covered up by McElroy's "country bookkeeping." The era ended in 1940 with
Pendergast pleading guilty to income tax evasion. McElroy had died
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The City
Council forced Cookingham to resign. He tendered his resignation on April 16, 1959, and it became official on June 30, 1959. During this period, he was on "terminal leave" and an interim city manager was appointed. Within the next four years, Kansas City had nine city managers.
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on
October 6, 1896, to Emma Emilia (née Gordonier) and Joseph Fitch Cookingham. His father was a bridge superintendent for a railroad. At the age of eight, Cookingham and his family moved to
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eliminated the city's debt. He was to oversee a period when Kansas City through annexations more than doubled in area from 60 to 130 square miles (340 km) —- mostly north of the
403:. He also served as chief of police and health officer. In 1930, Cookingham was elected as president of the Michigan City Managers Association. In 1931, he was named city manager of
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Dictionary of
Missouri Biography - Edited by Lawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, Gary R. Kremer, and Kennith H. Winn - University of Missouri Press - 1999
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from 1963 to 1967. He became a member and then president of the Board of Kansas City Parks and
Recreation Commission. He worked as an adjunct professor at the
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of the council-manager city charter in recognition of his contributions made to that city in which he was also highly regarded. During the occasion, a
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Kansas City had switched to the city manager form of government in the 1926, ostensibly to improve efficiency. However, big city boss
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in 1935. He served in this post from
January 6, 1936 until May 14, 1940. In 1937, Cookingham became vice president of the
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After leaving the Army in 1919, Cookingham returned to work for the railroad at
Danville and then became a bookkeeper in
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The
Pendergast/McElroy combine was to usher in a glory era in which much of the city infrastructure, including
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In 1986, the City of
Saginaw invited Cookingham to participate in celebrations marking the 50th
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in 1917. He worked for a railroad in Danville after graduating high school. In 1918, during
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was buried near the entrance to Saginaw’s City Hall scheduled to be opened in 2036.
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and destroying major facilities belonging to the city's two home-based airlines --
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until 1919. Cookingham received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the
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was to install a puppet city manager as the first city manager, in the form of
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Cookingham married Harriette L. West on January 2, 1921. She died in 1987.
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497:. Cookingham oversaw the construction of a brand new jet port north of the
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415:. He also served as director of the work division of the same association.
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destroyed much of Kansas City's industrial base —- devastating the
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L. Perry Cookingham Papers, University of Missouri–Kansas City
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The University of Missouri–Kansas City conferred upon him the
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After leaving Kansas City, Cookingham became city manager of
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This City, This Man: The Cookingham Era in Kansas City
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This City, This Man: The Cookingham Era in Kansas City
863:. International City County Management Association.
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is credited in large part to Cookingham’s planning.
579:In 1951, Cookingham was the first person given the
567:in Kansas City, at the age of 95. He was buried at
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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432:International City/County Management Association
327:for 19 years. He also served as city manager of
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583:. In 1976, Cookingham Road, the main road into
418:Cookingham served as the first City Manager of
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399:. In 1927, he was the first city manager of
948:United States Army personnel of World War I
943:University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty
603:L.P. Cookingham Institute of Urban Affairs
383:from the Detroit Institute of Technology.
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
16:American public administrator (1896–1992)
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205: 1921; died 1987)
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563:Cookingham died on July 22, 1992, at
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601:on May 12, 1979 and later named the
409:Federal Emergency Relief Association
351:Laurie Perry Cookingham was born in
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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607:Henry W. Bloch School of Management
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831:University of Missouri–Kansas City
736:Texas State Historical Association
729:Lucas, Ray F. (October 15, 2021).
535:University of Missouri–Kansas City
459:Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City)
428:council-manager form of government
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928:People from Kansas City, Missouri
585:Kansas City International Airport
503:Kansas City International Airport
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422:, after that city adopted a new
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434:. He became president in 1939.
377:Detroit Institute of Technology
219:Detroit Institute of Technology
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34:needs additional citations for
913:People from Plymouth, Michigan
903:People from Danville, Illinois
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923:People from Fort Worth, Texas
918:People from Saginaw, Michigan
908:People from Clawson, Michigan
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660:. July 23, 1992. p. A11
569:Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery
179:Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery
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795:. July 23, 1992. p. A1
652:"Rescue of a City Recalled"
438:City Manager of Kansas City
182:Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
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731:"Cookingham, Laurie Perry"
509:system in the Kansas City
581:LaGuardia Memorial Award
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58:"Laurie Perry Cookingham"
787:"KC Reformer Dies at 95"
599:Doctor of Humane Letters
531:People to People Program
305:Laurie Perry Cookingham
127:Laurie Perry Cookingham
933:American city managers
859:Gilbert, Bill (1978).
491:Mid-Continent Airlines
487:Kansas City Stockyards
413:Wayne County, Michigan
501:, which would become
455:Kansas City City Hall
325:Kansas City, Missouri
271:Years of service
168:Kansas City, Missouri
792:The Kansas City Star
657:The Kansas City Star
361:Danville High School
359:. He graduated from
317:public administrator
43:improve this article
898:People from Chicago
565:St. Luke's Hospital
483:Great Flood of 1951
313:L. Perry Cookingham
463:Nelson Art Gallery
426:providing for the
405:Plymouth, Michigan
371:and served in the
357:Danville, Illinois
333:Plymouth, Michigan
265:United States Army
826:"Honorary Degree"
775:on July 19, 2011.
768:Saginaw, Michigan
527:Fort Worth, Texas
511:metropolitan area
420:Saginaw, Michigan
401:Clawson, Michigan
381:Master of Science
353:Chicago, Illinois
341:Fort Worth, Texas
337:Saginaw, Michigan
329:Clawson, Michigan
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467:Kansas City Jazz
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367:, he joined the
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835:. Retrieved
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550:time capsule
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424:city charter
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373:Signal Corps
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289:Battles/wars
283:Signal Corps
163:(1992-07-22)
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
893:1992 deaths
888:1896 births
613:after him.
546:anniversary
365:World War I
293:World War I
882:Categories
837:October 8,
799:October 8,
747:October 8,
664:October 8,
617:References
347:Early life
235:Allegiance
214:Alma mater
144:1896-10-06
69:newspapers
763:"Charter"
369:U.S. Army
274:1918–1919
741:Archived
99:May 2015
605:at the
507:freeway
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83:scholar
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575:Legacy
387:Career
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187:Spouse
170:, U.S.
153:, U.S.
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201:(
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90:JSTOR
76:books
865:ISBN
839:2022
801:2022
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666:2022
611:UMKC
539:HNTB
493:and
481:The
339:and
279:Unit
223:M.S.
158:Died
138:Born
62:news
495:TWA
411:in
323:of
311:or
45:by
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