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| Neal Coonerty | |
Congratulations to Neal Coonerty, former ABA president and former owner of Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif., who was honored on Friday with a lifetime achievement award from the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, which said, in part:
"Neal Coonerty would, no doubt, groan at being described as a 'city father.' More comfortable with the persona of the modest and bespectacled book shop owner that he also is, city 'parenthood' was thrust upon him, largely by the Loma Prieta earthquake [in 1989]. To his credit he has been neither an unwilling steward of our collective well-being nor unprepared for the rigors of management in an often-contentious political environment. 
"Neal had built strong relationships before the earthquake--in the business community, with the progressive leadership of the City, and, especially, with his Bookshop customers. But the day that defined both the City's resilience and Neal's role as a city leader was a few weeks after the earthquake. He was finally given permission to enter his badly damaged Bookshop Santa Cruz premises for two days to remove its inventory and fixtures prior to its demolition. He reached out, asking for help with this monumental and hazardous task, not knowing what to expect. But on that drizzly Saturday morning more than 400 people showed up to save the Bookshop. It was a cathartic moment for downtown and the City. And, with it, Neal became a symbol of the will, collaboration, and wisdom that would cut across political creeds and propel the recovery of the downtown and of Santa Cruz....
"In 1990, a year after the earthquake, Neal was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council where he served as a council member for what were probably the four most eventful years in the history of local government. During that time the city administered millions of dollars in earthquake funds, services and support and adopted plans and initiatives to guide the city's rehabilitation, particularly including the Downtown Recovery Plan. Elected Mayor by the Council in 1992, he presided over the reopening celebration of downtown…
"Neal's calm demeanor and political savvy have been instrumental in key decisions from earthquake reconstruction to the large-scale development of affordable housing and from the settlement agreement with UCSC resolving dozens of inter-institutional squabbles to the successful management of the County budget, decimated by the 2008 Great Recession. His presence--forthright, both willful and willing to compromise, and pragmatic--has blended economic realism with the community's progressive values to guide Santa Cruz for two generations through both difficult times and great opportunities."
He has been on the County Board of Supervisors since 2006 and steps down in January, when his son Ryan will take the seat. Daughter Casey Coonerty Protti is owner of the Bookshop Santa Cruz.