RANDY ECONOMY: MY WORLD: Breaking: Iconic Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser dies tonight after 3 month illness. He was 59

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Breaking: Iconic Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser dies tonight after 3 month illness. He was 59

SEEN in late 2009: Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser (front and center) and the Santa Monica City Council last year. Other members include Councilman Bobby Shriver, Councilman Richard Bloom, Councilman Robert Holbrook, (seated) Mayor Pro-Tem Pam O'Connor, Mr. Genser, and Councilwoman Gleam Davis.

Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010
BREAKING NEWS:

By Randy Economy

Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser, the longest-serving City Council member in Santa Monica history, has passed away this evening.

Genser, a political icon in the hip surf side enclave, served on the council since 1988, had been hospitalized for two and a half months after complaining of severe back pains and trouble breathing, those close to him said.

He was only 59 years old.

"We request that we be allowed continued privacy as we deal with losing our beloved friend and mayor," a statement that was released earlier today.

News of the passing of Genser is sending many here into a deep sadness. "I am grief stricken and know that the entire community shares my feelings of immeasurable sorrow over this news about Ken," said Richard Bloom a Santa Monica Councilman and Mayor.

Genser had been hospitalized since Oct. 30. His death was due to "multiple complications," City Manager P. Lamont Ewell said in a statement.

"It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of our Mayor Ken Genser, an indefatigable champion for quality of life in Santa Monica," Mayor Pro Tempore Pam O'Connor and City Council members said in a statement. "Ken distinguished himself with a fierce intellect, passion for progressive social policy and compassion for people. He served the Santa Monica community throughout his lifetime and will be greatly missed."

Here is the rich political history of Ken Genser:

Elected to the Santa Monica City Council in November 1988 to November 1992
Served as Mayor Pro Tem November 1990 to December 1991
Mayor December 1991 to November 1992
Reelected to the Santa Monica City Council in November 1992 to November 1996
Reelected in November 1996 to November 2000
Served as Mayor Pro Tem December 1998 to December 1999
Served as Mayor December 1999 to December 2000
Reelected November 2000 to November 2004
Reelected November 2004 to November 2008
Reelected November 2008 to November 2012

Funeral arrangements for Mayor Genser have not been announced as of Sunday morning.

What are your thoughts?
Hit the headline of this Blog and click on the Comment Section below or drop me to share your memories of Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser or drop me a note to RREconomy@aol.com

2 comments:

Santa Monica SURF PUPPY said...: I loved Ken...He was THE BEST and MOST COMPASSIONATE ELECTED OFFICIAL EVER here in Santa Monica. Thanks, Randy for the post.; Saturday, January 09, 2010 11:06:00 PM
Poppyhead said...: Ken was good for Santa Monica. RIP; Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:31:00 AM

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Meet Randy Economy

You may know me from my role as the Senior Advisor and Official Media Spokesman for the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign that established a worldwide blitz of interviews. I conducted more than 2,200 media interviews on behalf of “The People’s Recall” during a 10-month period from November 2020 to September 2021. The iconic magazine Mother Jones in a dramatic feature article called me “A ‘Superhero Pirate’ Radio Host, (and) Gavin Newsom’s Strangest—and Most Dangerous—Threat. Meet Randy Economy, the man behind the effort to recall California’s governor.” I appeared on more than 330 media outlets around the world in my capacity with RecallGavin2020. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Newsmax, NBC Nightly News, ABC News, as well as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Politico, and dozens of other media outlets aired featured reports on my work on behalf of “The People’s Recall.” I am and will always consider myself to be a journalist. Sometimes I think I bleed ink. My talents as an Investigative Journalists in California earned me FIVE top awards from the prestigious Los Angeles Press Club in 2013, 2014, and 2016. I am tenacious. My reporting over the years has led to the prosecution of several elected officials in California. While working for a tiny community newspaper in Southeast Los Angeles County, I worked doggedly to expose the biggest public corruption case in Los Angeles County history when I unearthed a massive pay to play scheme inside the Assessor’s Office that led to the arrest of then Assessor John R. Noguez and four others. However, politics has been in my DNA since I was a child. I have worked on more than 300 political campaigns as a consultant and advisor since 1982 for candidates from all sides of the political spectrum including Democrats and Republicans, and even Libertarians. I am also a small business owner, serving as the President and CEO of Hot Water Studio & Production, LLC. My company works with media outlets across the state, nation, and world exposing public corruption via several new media platforms. I have also overcome personal challenges. I am legally blind with zero vision in my right eye and only 40 percent vision remaining in my left eye. I sometimes wear an eyepatch due to my failed vision. (Hence the nickname of “America’s Political Pirate.”