> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Bobby Shriver on Career, Nonprofits and NASCAR
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bobby-shriver/
- Published: 2004-10-23T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:20:03.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Pier, #archive-import, Homeless

Age: 50 Profession: Attorney, organizer- /financier/manager of nonprofit organizations. Alternative career. What you do if you weren’t employed in your current profession? NASCAR driver. How long have you lived in Santa Monica? 17 years. What neighborhood do you live in? North side. Why did you choose to live here? It is the best place to live in the whole country. Rent or own? Own. I rented in ear-lier days. Favorite place in Santa Monica? Any yoga studio. Worst thing about living in Santa Monica? Not enough places to buy coffee. How many cars do you own? Two. What do you drive? A 1994 Mercedes. If you could have dinner with three people from history, alive or dead, who would they be? Why? Jesus, Shakespeare and Mozart. I challenge anyone to come up with a better group. Favorite quote? “If you want to touch the sky, you’d better learn to kneel.” — Bono Pet peeves? Questionnaires. How do you take the edge off? (How do you relieve stress?) Accordion music — polkas are best. What’s your biggest accomplishment in life? My relationship with my fiancée. What’s your biggest disappointment in life? Not meeting my fiancée earlier in my life. Tell us one thing people would be surprised to know about you. I once sat still for five minutes. Fetishes? Hmmm. Hobbies/interests. How do you spend your recreational time? Yoga. What’s the last live performance you saw? U2 Last book you read? Santa Monica city budget. Have you ever been arrested? If yes, what for? Not as an adult. Family: Marital status. Number of children? Engaged, one stepdaughter-to-be. Endorsed by: Santa Monica Police Officers’ Association, Santa Monica Firefighters’ Association, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Community for Excellence in Public Schools, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Pier Lessees Association, and I have been designated “The Pick of the Litter” by Unleash the Beach. Public service/political experience? I have produced eight Christmas albums that raised $60 million for the Special Olympics. I invested the money and turned it into $100 million. With the rock musician Bono, I formed the DATA Foundation, which has secured $15 billion from both Democratic and Republican administrations to alleviate AIDS and poverty in Africa. I am a director of the Crossroads Foundation at Antigua, a substance-abuse rehabilitation center. I am chair of the California State Parks and Recreation Commission. In Santa Monica, I organized a successful grassroots movement to force the city to rewrite its outdated ordinance regulating the height of hedges. Many people — including me — are involved in city government because of it. Political affiliation: Democrat. Educational background: B.A. in American studies from Yale (cum laude). J.D. from Yale Law School. Question #1: In 300 words or less, answer this: If you were elected into office, what would be the first policy change you would make? How would you ensure a majority vote on that policy?

I would change the council rules to shorten the meetings. Depending on who is elected, the majority could favor that. If not, I would propose some new rules limiting the amount of time a councilmember can speak.

The public is limited to three, or even two, minutes — but coun-cilmembers have no limit. I’d also propose a stricter procedure to make it harder for meetings to go past 11 p.m. (Maybe require a 5-2 vote, or an emergency situation). Question #2: In 300 words or less, convince the public on why they should vote for you. I get results for people. During this campaign reporters have said that I’m entering the family business — meaning elective politics — by running for office. But the Shriver family business is serving people. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. When I’m raising money for Special Olympics, I consider disabled athletes my clients; for DATA, poor people in Africa. As a councilmem-ber, I would work for the people of Santa Monica the same way. Question #3: In 300 words or less, what will be your top three priorities the first year of holding office? 1\. Begin the process of establishing permanent housing for chronic homeless people in vacant buildings on the Veteran’s Administration grounds in West Los Angeles. Mental health, substance abuse, medical, nutritional, occupational, and social support would be available at that facility.

We must end the situation we now have on our streets and in our parks, for the sake of the homeless people and all Santa Monica residents. 2\. Change the attitude city leaders have toward residents and businesses from “Here’s what you must do for me.” to “What can I do for you?” 3\. Regarding traffic and development: Start incorporating the “less is more” philosophy into Santa Monica’s land use policies. OPTIONAL: Is there an afterlife? Yes. Do you believe in extraterrestrials? No. What’s the meaning of life? God is great. Have you inhaled? None of your business.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 23, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102304.pdf?ref=smdp.com)