Judy Abdo Ken Genser, January 10, 2010
It's an understatement to say that Ken played a crucial role in Santa Monica's history. His contributions to our political and civic culture are truly fundamental. I use the present tense, because so much of what he has left behind is institutional: policies and places that will live on, continuing to affect people's lives in positive ways.
He is, in many ways, one of the historical figures in our city. So we can be certain that we will read and re-read his biography for many weeks to come. The details of his life-his family roots in Santa Monica, his childhood, his education at one of California's finest public universities, his public service, his love for his family, his fierce defense of our city's core values (values he helped articulate), his myriad accomplishments in housing, preservation, affordable housing, and the environment, and his bravery in the face of growing disability-will be told again and again as we mourn him. Much of what Ken left behind can be experienced in Santa Monica today.
But it's the overall shape of Ken's life that will leave a lasting impression on so many of us in the community-allies and adversaries alike. Around here, the personal is truly the political. Ken's life parallels the evolution of our city in the past thirty years. We watched the transformation of a scrappy, acerbic, and brilliant young man into a mature, loving and effective leader. We saw Ken's fervor ripen into wisdom. We grew and changed alongside him. And because we have survived him, we are able to witness, with great sadness, how a life well spent is celebrated.
We enjoy continuity in this community. People come here to live with each other, not beside each other. We sustain relationships through thick and thin. That's the culture of our city. That's why we feel so diminished when one of our own leaves us. We'll miss Ken at "all the old familiar places"-on the dais, in the corridors of City Hall, at community meetings, at the SMRR convention, the pier, the deli, ribbon cuttings. We'll miss catching a glimpse of him at the wheel of his famous drop-top Saab. This man who we've grown to love and respect leaves a huge void, but despite his absence, we, and the future citizens of Santa Monica, will know what to do. Because Ken has left behind instructions: fight for those things that are human and humane. The rest of it will follow.