Born in Mesa, Colorado to Henry Kneeland Bogert and Adaline Esther Mitchell, he was raised in the California mountain town of Wrightwood in San Bernardino County. He was a rodeo colleague and distant relative to cowboy artist Earl W. Bascom.
In 1958, Bogert was elected to the Palm Springs City Council, becoming mayor soon after, serving for eight years. He was elected to the position for two more two-year terms in 1982.
Bogert worked closely with Gene Autry to bring the California Angels to Palm Springs for spring training. In 1987 he wrote a book, Palm Springs: First Hundred Years,[2] a favorite of famous area resident Bob Hope.
As Mayor of Palm Springs in the mid-1960's, Bogert was an advocate for the eviction of non-Native Americans from Section 14, a tract of land held by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians but leased to others. The city directed that the tribe terminate short-term leases granted to them and used city funds to clear the land for redevelopment, including burning the homes.[4] The evicted residents of Section 14 were mostly Black and Latino who did not want to move.[5]
The Palm Springs Human Relations Commission cited this history, as well as a conflict of interest while Bogert acted as conservator for tribal land which was being demolished by the city, and alleged racist comments regarding the "poor Blacks" who lived in Section 14, as justification for removing a statue of Bogert on horseback[6] placed in 1990 in front of the Palm Springs City Hall.[7] The City Council of Palm Springs ordered its removal in 2021 and formally apologized for the eviction of the Section 14 residents.[8] After legal objections to its removal from Bogert's supporters and family members were rejected by the courts, the statue was relocated on July 13, 2022.[9]
Palm Springs: First Hundred Years. Palm Springs: Palm Springs Library. 2003 [1987]. p.288. ISBN978-0961872427. OCLC51059207.
Prickly Pears: Interviews with Billie Lipps and Tommy Lipps Von Mastrigt (VHS). Palm Springs Library: Portraits of Historical Palm Springs, No. 54. 1989. OCLC40933409.
Anthony Burke. Palm Springs: Why I Love You. Palm Desert: Palmesa. 1978. OCLC 5346893.
Lawrence Culver. Frontier of Leisure: Southern California and the Shaping of Modern America. New York: Oxford University Press. 2010. pp. 157-159. ISBN 9780195382631.
Rippingale, Sally Presley (1984). "The Thirties". The History of the Racquet Club of Palm Springs. Yucaipa, CA: US Business Specialties. p.146. LCCN85226534. OCLC13526611.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Frank_M._Bogert, and is written by contributors.
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