As he prepares to retire from the Santa Clarita City Council after 20 years, Bob Kellar sat down with KHTS to reflect on his time on the council, as well as what is in store for him in the coming years.
A History of Service
Kellar had a background in service before ever considering a life in local politics. In 1965, he was drafted into the United States Army, where he served for two years.
“As a matter of fact, I did not want to be drafted, I wanted to enlist,” Kellar said. “I actually went to a recruitment office one time down in Van Nuys, and I just didn’t gel with the guy. It was not taking anything away, but ultimately I was drafted and I served two years in the Army, and honestly I am so pleased that I did it.”
While Kellar had planned to extend his service in the Army, a letter from his mother changed his mind. In one of the letters that she sent him every week, Kellar’s mother attached a newspaper clipping about how a young man that Kellar had known in high school had been shot and killed after joining the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
“I say to school children now and then, ‘Knowing what I know today, if I had to do it all over again, I’d become a Los Angeles police officer,’ and I’ve meant that,” Kellar said. “I know these are troubled times that we have right now, but I still am so pleased that I became a police officer, and (have) no regrets whatsoever.”
Kellar would go on to serve in a number of different roles within the LAPD, including on the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the early 1970s.
“He was always a well-respected member, and during his tenure with the department, he worked as an Internal Affairs Investigator, often investigating personal complaints of racial discrimination by his fellow officers,” said George Thomas, owner of Route 66 Classic Grill who knew Kellar when he was part of the SWAT team, in a previous KHTS story. “His investigations were always fair and unbiased.”
While working for the LAPD, Kellar got a call in 1986 from a man he knew from the department, who was also involved with the Canyon Country Chamber of Commerce at the time. He had called Kellar to ask him to help out with the Frontier Days Rodeo, an annual event at the time of which Kellar would eventually become the chairman.
“It was my first stepping point into becoming involved with the community,” Kellar recalled.
He retired in 1993 as the Supervisor in Charge of Reserve Officer Training at the Police Academy, where he had spent the last ten years of his career in the LAPD.
“I absolutely loved that job,” Kellar said. “Being able to have some influence on young police officers coming on to the department and so forth.”
A few years before retiring from the LAPD, Kellar obtained his real estate license, which allowed him “hit the ground running” in the real estate business. He would eventually found Kellar-Davis Real Estate in 2000, which he still operates to this day.
After his retirement, Kellar served with a number of organizations, including the Canyon Country Chamber of Commerce, the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation, and the American Red Cross, the last of which he joined at the request of KHTS Co-Owner Carl Goldman.
“Bob is one of the main reasons Santa Clarita is a stellar community,” Goldman said. “(His) many trips to Washington D.C. fighting the feds on CEMEX, or advocating on behalf of our valley in Sacramento, or being sensitive and supportive of our many small local businesses.”
See Related: City Councilmember Bob Kellar Advocates For Santa Clarita In Sacramento
Kellar also began to become more involved with the City of Santa Clarita itself, joining the Santa Clarita Planning Commission at the behest of then-mayor Jo Anne Darcy.
Then, in 1999, Kellar was asked by a number of community leaders, including SCV Woman of the Year Connie Roberts and HMNH Foundation President Marlee Lauffer, to run for City Council.
“I was very flattered obviously,” Kellar said. “I said, ‘Guys, let me sleep on it,’ and I did. I thought about it until the next day, and I picked up the phone and I said, ‘If you want me to, I’ll do it.’”
Kellar ran for Santa Clarita City Council in 2000, earning just over 38% of the vote to earn a seat on the Santa Clarita City Council.
“It was an interesting experience,” Kellar said. “Trust me, you don’t do these things by yourself. There’s a lot of support and people that you appreciate coming on board and helping you.”
Two Decades on the Council
Almost immediately after being elected to the City Council, Kellar was put on a subcommittee aimed at combating the creation of the CEMEX mega mine, a battle that the City had been fighting since 1990 when the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) awarded two contracts to Cemex in 1990 to extract roughly 56 million tons of sand and gravel in Soledad Canyon.
“When the issue of CEMEX came to light, there were a lot of eyebrows going up, Kellar recalled. “It was clear to me that there were people that were in some leadership capacities that did not bring that revelation to the attention of the community, and it is such a significant matter for this community.”
City officials who opposed the mine stated that the extensive mining proposed for the site would have far-reaching negative effects on the entire Santa Clarita Valley, including air pollution and increased traffic.
From 1999 to 2006, the two sides engaged in “an aggressive legal and public relations battle,” and Santa Clarita officials reportedly spent more than $7 million fighting the mine before a truce was reached in 2008.
During that time and beyond, Kellar made an estimated 30 trips to Washington D.C., talking to any and every federal official he could to prevent the creation of the mine.
“We worked hard to win that battle,” he said. “We hit every button we could hit to try and win the battle. We certainly visited with Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer at the time also to get their support and we were able to get their support.”
No mining has ever occurred at the proposed CEMEX site, and most likely never will, with the company’s contracts to mine the land expiring on July 31, 2020.
“I don’t know that it’s completely dead, but I know one thing: they’re not mining out there,” Kellar said.
Other actions that Kellar has taken while on the council include:
- Organizing a rally in support of bringing back Officer David March’s killer from Mexico in 2002.
- Proposing the creation of the Santa Clarita Arts Commission in 2009.
- Bringing forward a proposal to place “In God We Trust” in the council chamber next to the city logo in 2010.
- Organizing the community to show support for the loss of Rudy Acosta, the son of former City Councilman and State Assemblyman Dante Acosta, who was killed in Kandahar while serving in the Army in 2011.
- Helping organize the annual ‘Light Up Main Street’ and the Christmas tree lighting in Newhall in 2013.
- Proposing the Banner Program to recognize members of the Santa Clarita Valley community who have or currently are serving in the United States military in 2014.
- Actively opposing California’s SB-54, legislation that made changes to state law related to the involvement of state and local law enforcement agencies relative to federal immigration enforcement, in 2018.
Then, after 20 years of serving on the City Council, Kellar announced that he would not be running for re-election in 2020.
“I’m 76 years old,” Kellar said. “I got a dance or two left, I certainly hope so, but it’s time. 20 years is enough.”
See Related: Santa Clarita Business Owners Voice Support For Bob Kellar
Kellar’s last year on the council would become one of the most difficult periods in the City’s history, with the both the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as social unrest surrounding the relationship between law enforcement and racial minorities.
“It’s been a difficult year to say the least,” Kellar said. “If there were a couple of things that if I could push a button and have changed, I probably would have done that. But you have to deal with the cards that are dealt to you. “
Part of the challenge for Kellar particularly came from several vocal residents who called for his resignation due to comments made in a 2010 anti-illegal immigration rally, where he described how he had previously quoted President Theodore Roosevelt, advocating for “one flag, one language.”
“You know, the only thing I heard back from a couple of people? ‘Bob, you sound like a racist,’” Kellar said during the 2010 rally. “I said, ‘That’s good. If that’s what you think I am, because I happen to believe in America, I’m a proud racist. You’re darn right I am.’”
The term “proud racist” sparked outrage at the time, and was brought forward once again as conversations about racial equality continued throughout the country. Rallies were held in an effort to get Kellar to resign, and residents regularly called in to council meetings to voice their opinions directly to Kellar.
“I wasn’t going to fall victim to it, but I will tell you, it didn’t please me to hear those comments being made, which saddened me frankly,” Kellar said. “All right. I mean, you got your wish, you’ve hurt my feelings, now let’s move on.”
Nevertheless, Kellar refused to resign, and finished his final term in its entirety.
“The truth of the matter is, as an individual, I know the truth,” Kellar said. “That’s one thing you can’t take from me. I know the truth.”
The Path Forward
Tuesday marks the final time that Kellar will enter City Hall as a City Councilman, as he will have an opportunity to say farewell to his fellow council members.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege, and I mean it,” Kellar said. “it’s been a very important chapter in my book.
Jason Gibbs, who Kellar endorsed in the 2020 election, is set to take his seat on the council Tuesday, which Kellar says he is “absolutely thrilled” about.
“He’s going to do a great job for this city, there was no question in my mind about it,” Kellar said. “He’s a fine family man, he’s a very bright man, and I’m just thrilled that he’s going to be moving into the office that I’ve occupied for 20 years.”
As Kellar prepares to shift his focus away from the council and on to his real estate business, he said that he had no regrets looking back over his life.
“Honestly, I can look you in the eye and tell you if I had to do it all over again, God bless, I’ve been a very lucky man,” he said.
When asked if he had a message for Santa Clarita residents, Kellar responded with gratitude.
“Thank you,” he concluded. “Thank you for giving me the privilege and I hope I’ve done a good job for you Santa Clarita. I have wanted to.”
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