Val C. Cleary

Val C. Cleary
Miami Dade County Commissioner
In office
1944–1948
Succeeded byLouis F. Snedigar
11th Mayor of Miami Beach
In office
1941–1943
Preceded byJohn H Levi
Succeeded byMitchell Wolfson
7th Mayor of Miami Beach
In office
1930–1932
Preceded byLouis F. Snedigar
Succeeded byArthur Frank Katzentine
Personal details
Born1882 (1882)
Died1966 (aged 83–84)
SpouseGrace E Cleary
OccupationActor, Real estate broker

Val C. Cleary (1882–1966) was an actor, real estate broker and politician who became two-time mayor of Miami Beach, Florida.

Early life

Cleary was an actor before moving to Florida. He was married to Grace Cleary.

Cleary famously bought a property on Miami Beach for $800 and sold it four years later for $150,000.[1]

Politics

Cleary had a number of political positions throughout his career. He was a tax assessor. He was elected Miami Beach Mayor and also selected as Mayor by the city council. He was an at-large delegate to the 1932 national Democratic Party convention, where they elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932.[2] He was a county commissioner and was also a member of the state delegation that changed the state constitution to eliminate Prohibition. He also lost several races, including the 1948 County Commission seat for District 5.

Electoral results

General election, Miami, FL 1948, County Commission, District 5 [3]

Candidate Votes
Cleary 24,435
Louis F. Snedigar 27,921

Fraternal and civic affiliations

Cleary was a Freemason, charter member of the Lion's Club, an Elk[4] and commander of Miami's Harvey W Seeds American Legion Post #29.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Whited, Charles (September 4, 1977). "The Heyday: Miami Beach 1921-1926". Miami Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  2. ^ McDermott, John B (June 23, 1953). "Democrats Nominated Roosevelt 21 yrs ago". Miami Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Dade County Results". The Miami Herald. No. 1 pg 1. May 6, 1948.
  4. ^ "Miami Elks choose leaders". Miami Herald. April 8, 1949.

Sources