Laurie Perry Cookingham

Laurie Perry Cookingham, more commonly known as L.P. Cookingham or L. Perry Cookingham, (October 23, 1896 – July 22, 1992) was a noted public administrator in the United States having served as City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri for 19 years.

Cookingham was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Danville, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and received a civil engineering degree from the Detroit Institute of Technology. He worked in the public-works department of Flint, Michigan, where he met his wife Harriette West.

In 1926, he was the first city manager of Clawson, Michigan. In 1931, he was named city manager of Plymouth, Michigan and subsequently became the director of the work division of the Federal Emergency Relief Association in Wayne County, Michigan.

Cookingham served as the first City Manager of Saginaw, Michigan, after that city adopted a new city charter providing for the council-manager form of government in 1935.[1] He served in this post from January 6, 1936 until May 14, 1940. During this time he was also president of the International City/County Management Association.

Kansas City had switched to the city manager form of government in the 1926, ostensibly to improve efficiency. However, big city boss Tom Pendergast was to install a puppet city manager as the first city manager, in the form of Henry F. McElroy.

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