William E. Riker

William Edward Riker (February 17, 1873 – December 3, 1969) was a White supremacist religious leader and perennial candidate who founded the community of Holy City, California, and was an unsuccessful candidate for California Governor. Other nicknames included "Father", "The Comforter", "The Professor", "The Emancipator".

Early life Riker was born in California on February 17, 1873. He worked as a palm reader and later traveled as a mind reader under the professional name "Professor Riker". Riker moved to Canada rather than face charges of bigamy in San Francisco. In 1918, the PCDW was incorporated by Riker, Irvin Fisher and Anna Schramm in Los Angeles.

Religious commune leader

In 1918, Riker returned to the United States and purchased of land near Los Gatos outside of San Jose. He married his fourth wife, "Mother" Lucille Schutrum Jensen Riker (1874–1950) The station closed after six years when Riker's license was revoked for "irregularities".

He unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California four times. In 1938, he entered the Progressive Party primary and received only 170 of the approximately 7,500 total votes cast. In the subsequent three elections, he entered both the Republican and Democratic primaries. Riker lost the primaries in 1942, 1946 and 1950, averaging less than one percent of the total votes.

Riker was arrested by the FBI in 1942 for sedition due to his support of Adolf Hitler whom Riker called "a second Martin Luther". Financial difficulties eventually led to Riker losing control of the community in 1960. In 1966, at the age of 93, Riker converted to Catholicism.