Harmon, Harley, 1882-1947
Description
Harley A. Harmon was born in 1882 in Wier City, Kansas. His father, Elmer Harmon, was an attorney who moved the family to Los Angeles, California when Harmon was nine years old. In 1903, Harley A. Harmon unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles City Clerk. In 1905, Harley A. Harmon joined the Union Pacific Railroad as an engineer and drove one of the first construction trains to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Harley A. Harmon was stationed in 1908.
That same year, Harley A. Harmon attended the Democratic State Convention and advocated for the establishment of Clark County in Las Vegas, which passed in the next session and became effective on July 1, 1909. When Las Vegas was incorporated in 1911, Harley A. Harmon became Clark County's first City Clerk. Harmon took his bar examination and passed in 1919, and in 1921 he was elected District Attorney. Harmon held the office until 1934, when he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor. After the election, the newly elected Democratic Governor Richard Kirman appointed Harmon the chairman of the State Public Service Commission. Harmon ran again for the gubernatorial nomination in 1938 and lost a second time. He was a member of the Colorado River Commission which negotiated rights for the water and power emanating from the Colorado River and the Boulder Dam.
Harley A. Harmon married Leona McGovern in 1911 and had two children, Charles E. Harmon and Harley E. Harmon. Harley A. Harmon died October 10, 1947.
Sources:
Hopkins, A.D. "Harley Harmon."
