Kennedy Kin Runs for Calif. City Council

[kskiska]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Bobby Shriver, whose family tree includes President John F. Kennedy and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is making his first bid for political office as a candidate for Santa Monica City Council.

Shriver, a 50-year-old lawyer, entered the race after a dispute over the height of the hedges around his home in this Los Angeles suburb, known as much for its liberal politics as its coastal beauty.

Shriver's presence has injected some star power in the race for City Council, which handles issues such as traffic and schools. He is the son of one-time vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, nephew of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and the late John and Robert F. Kennedy. His sister, Maria Shriver, is married to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, recently joined him on a canvassing walk.

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4515035,00.html

[goclark]

1. Will he be a Rethug?

[realFedUp]

2. Not a rethug - L.A. Times article on him today

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shriver25sep25,1,3464287.story

The issues seem to be nothing new — traffic, schools, homelessness and development. But the chatty and personable Shriver is injecting some juice.

Shriver has won support from police and firefighters, the county Democratic Party and the Chamber of Commerce. He was spurned by a new municipal employees political action committee and by the Santa Monica Democratic Club, which pointed to his lack of experience in politics and his ties to Colleen McAndrews, an election law attorney who has backed local conservative causes.

In an interview Friday, Shriver said he had no patience with such divisiveness.

snip

A 17-year resident of Santa Monica, Shriver has devoted much of his life to public service and now heads the state Parks and Recreation Commission, to which he was appointed in 2000 by then-Gov. Gray Davis.