Mayor Kevin McKeown

City of Santa Monica

Los Angeles

Kevin McKeown has been a Santa Monica renter for almost 40 years. He moved here to become general manager of KROQ, a career path begun at Yale's campus radio station.

He also has been an award-winning advertising writer, done voice-overs, and owned a small radio recording studio on Main Street. McKeown now serves local children and teachers as Macintosh computer consultant for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

On the Council, where he is in his fifth term, McKeown focuses especially on affordable housing and environmental sustainability. He devotes much time and energy to responding to residents, and his leadership in helping people become more involved in local governance is longstanding. McKeown came to the Council after chairing a neighborhood group, serving on the Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights steering committee, and sharing his professional expertise as a founder of the city's Public Electronic Network (PEN) and member of the Santa Monica Telecommunications Working Group.

McKeown has helped engage regional cities in working together on issues of homelessness, which he brought to the table as Santa Monica's alternate to the Westside Cities Council of Governments. He is an elected member of the Democratic Party State Central Committee, and Southern California vice-chair of the party’s Irish-American caucus. He has twice (2010 and 2013) been named our Assembly District Democrat of the Year.

McKeown is committed to protecting Santa Monicans' quality of life.

Understanding the link between pressures for overdevelopment and private political donations, McKeown continues to work in support of community efforts for local campaign finance reform.