Pasadena Magazine

neighborhood of the community feels a part of Pasadena in a way that they didn't before. Despite all you were able to accomplish, are there some things that still need to be done? Is there a priority that you would hope your successor would take on? These are challenging times for local govern- ment, there's no question about it—and it's always a matter of money. The economy is recovering and our revenues are increasing slightly, but expenses are increasing even more for pensions and for employee benefi ts and just the cost of living for cities. So, there is a challenge to continue tight fi scal management on the city and ask everyone who is part of the city to be helpful in regard to managing costs and assuring that the city's fi nancial stability can be maintained. We have climate control to deal with and a limitation on resources, like water and electric power. Pasadena has been a leader in sustainability and I hope that remains a priority. Pasadena is a green city and I hope it continues to pursue those goals. You mentioned the pension plan. I know there was some signifi cant restructuring of how the contributions were handled there. That's true. One of the priorities in the last few years has been to ask employees to join in the funding of the pension plans. Cities, including Pasadena, had fallen into a pattern over the last couple of decades of paying not only the employer contribution to the California Public Employees Retirement System, CALPERS, but also in certain cases to pay a portion of the employee's contribution. We've re-negotiated that in these troubled times, and our employ- ees have stepped up and agreed to pay the full employee contribution that is expected by CALPERS. That's going to save millions of dol- lars for the city over the years ahead. So much of the unique appeal of Pasadena has to do with the preservation of its history, particularly architecture. Mrs. Bogaard has obviously been a huge part of that, and I wondered if you could talk about Pasadena Heritage and how it was working so closely with your spouse. From my point of view, the single most impor- tant factor in the development of Pasadena over the last 30 years is historic preservation. In the late 70s, City Hall wanted to go in a different direction, which was to demolish buildings that were old and not in the best of shape, and replace them with corporate headquarters. But a group of activists who were imbued with the philosophy of historic preservation emerged in the late 70s and the early 80s and advocated for Pasadena to retain its built environment, to adaptively reuse it for modern purposes, to manage the level and the density of growth and offer something that other cities can't possibly have—which is the architectural heritage that Pasadena enjoys. That philosophy of primarily retaining building, retaining neighborhoods, rather than demolishing and starting over, has resulted in a community that's strongly committed now and strongly ap- preciates historic preservation. Claire has been an important player. Pasadena Heritage is the largest membership organization in Pasadena. They have worked hard and Claire has been a member of that team and a strong, successful advocate for the strengths of Pasadena— retaining them and building on them rather than losing them. After college you attended Michigan Law School, but then you decided to come back to California, specifi cally Pasadena, to prac- tice law. Was there a particular reason? Well, Claire grew up in San Francisco, but had spent quite a bit of time with an aunt and an uncle and their family in Southern California. I had certainly come to Southern California, so we were predisposed to come to Los Angeles rather than San Francisco. I spent the bulk of my traditional career in L.A. practicing law and then serving as chief legal offi cer for First Interstate. We found a good place to live in Pasadena because the homes were affordable and they were large. We have four children. So, we've had a wonderful life in Pasadena and have always been excited about living in Southern California with all that it has to offer. Are your children products of the Pasadena school system? Yes they are. Three have graduated from public schools. One graduated from Flintridge and they went on, all to public universities: U.C. Davis, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. San Diego and the University of Michigan. Before we wrap up, is there a favorite thing you like to do around town? The traditions and the celebrations of Pasadena are great fun. I think, of course, the Tournament of Roses is a great celebration that not only engages the community, but really the world—certainly the nation—on January 1, as we help show America how to celebrate the new year. I think of some more modern developments such as Make Music Pasadena, which has become very popular and brings in 20 or 30,000 people on a weekend with live music in the streets, corners and other venues of the city. I like the celebration of ethnic backgrounds, Latino heritage and Black history. I think those are important opportunities for the community to come together and celebrate our background. If you had one piece of advice to give your successor, what would it be? I like the idea that a leader develops a platform and a program by listening to the needs and the hopes and the concerns of people. I really am convinced that listening is a foundation for successful leadership and I hope the new mayor will be a good listener and be commit- ted to pursing the goals that emerge from a dialogue with the great people of Pasadena. What do you think the over and under is for the tenure of your successor, following your four-term example? (Chuckles) I don't know, I don't know. I've enjoyed every week of my 16 years, and I wish the best to my successor. From my point of view, the single most important factor in the development of Pasadena over the last 30 years is historic preservation. In the late 70s, City Hall wanted to go in a different direction, which was to demolish buildings that were old and not in the best of shape, and replace them with corporate headquarters. But a group of activists who were imbued with the philosophy of historic preservation emerged in the late 70s and the early 80s and advocated for Pasadena to retain its built environment, to adaptively reuse it for modern purposes. 112 APRIL 2015 TALK the

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