Frank Gruber, Neighbor

Hello, I’m Frank Gruber, and I’ve been involved in the life and politics of Santa Monica for over 20 years. In the 90s I was an activist for better planning, and I served on the Housing and Planning Commissions, and the oversight committee for a school district bond. In 2000 I started writing a weekly column, called “What I Say,” about Santa Monica for the Santa Monica Lookout News, and I did that for 11 years. (A selection of my columns was published in the book, Urban Worrier: Making Politics Personal.) I wrote the column until Jan. 2012 when I said goodbye to journalism so that I could run for city council. Running for office was a great experience, but in the November 2012 election, I lost. I miss writing down my thoughts on what’s going on in town, but I want to stay active as opposed to being just a commentator, and so I started my blog, The Healthy City Local, and I am pleased that I can share it on Santa Monica Patch.