Longtime Liberal Activist Dies

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

March 29 -- Dan Cohen -- the spirited, long-time local activist who fought to bring a better life to union workers, tenants and seniors for more than three decades -- died Friday after a long illness. He was 90.

Whether organizing electricians locally, presiding over Santa Monica's Democratic Club or sitting on the Commission on Older Americans, Cohen was recalled by friends and colleagues as an outspoken champion for everyman, voicing his opinion on the issues he felt affected Santa Monicans' quality of life.

An ever-present fixture in Santa Monica's progressive political scene until his final days, Cohen -- a local landlord and an electrician by trade -- was also a founding member of the politically powerful Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR), which has dominated local politics for the better part of a quarter century.

Despite holding several positions and titles over his lifetime, Cohen was, above all else, a fighter for "the little guy," his longtime friends recalled.

"Dan was like the glue that held the Democratic Club together for the early rent control campaign through the first six to eight years," said former Mayor Denny Zane, who was a founder of SMRR. "He was clearly a champion for working people and renters and seniors, just a deeply caring and politically engaged man."

"Dan was fighting for the dignity of all human kind," said 90-year-old Millie Rosenstein, who was a friend of the New Jersey-born Cohen and his late wife, Fran, for nearly three decades. "He was a progressive and a fighter for the things that make people's lives worth living."

The president of Santa Monica's Democratic Club in the 1970s, Cohen was in his mid-fifties when he joined a group of then-young activists who turned Santa Monica politics on its head and ride a renters' rights crusade into City Hall in the early 1980s.

"When I was just getting active, he was clearly a leader in the Democratic Club," said Ken Genser, a longtime SMRR member who has served on the City Council for more than 16 years.

"It's a loss of a link to the early days in Santa Monica, and another loss to the link we had to the progressive movement of 1930s and 1940s," said Genser, who described Cohen as having rock-solid values and never seemed afraid to speak his mind. "My sense was it was just a lifelong way of life for him."

Former school board president and fellow SMRR member Patricia Hoffman said Cohen acted as a compass for up-and-coming activists.

"He was always kind of a strict moralist, he was always telling us what we needed to be doing," said Hoffman, who noted that Cohen was just one of several seniors who made the group what it is today. "A lot of them have passed now. We were definitely richer for having known them."

In his later years, Cohen turned his attention to the plight of the elderly, working at the local, county and state levels to relieve financial pressures on seniors.

In the last few years, Cohen became an advocate for universal health care insurance for the elderly. He also was part of the senior legislature, a citizens group that meets during legislative breaks to lobby government.

"Dan was always looking to help those who were less fortunate, even in his final days," said Rosenstein, whose son Paul served on the City Council in the 1990s.

Cohen is survived by two sons who live in Southern California.

A memorial will be held in his honor from 2 pm to 4 pm Saturday, April 30, on the second floor of the Masonic Lodge, 926 Santa Monica Boulevard.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions on behalf of Daniel Cohen to got to the Center for Healthy Aging at 2125 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, 90404.