Former Activist Dead at 43

Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

June 14 – Neighborhood activist Chuck Allord -- a former City Council candidate with a lumbering frame, booming voice and penchant for winding up council members -- will no longer grace the chambers at City Hall. He died unexpectedly Sunday at the age of 43.

The former construction worker and self-styled guardian of all things Santa Monica died at St. John’s Health Center after undergoing an undisclosed elective surgery.

As one of a handful of residents who regularly attended council meetings, Allord often addressed multiple issues on every agenda. From homelessness to parking, Allord had an opinion. And he was not scared to share it.

Allord enered the political arena in the fall of 1999 after The Lookout reported on a plan hatched out in closed session to relocate a homeless center to a small neighborhood near Downtown where Allord lived. The news stirred Allord and his angry neighbors into action. (see story)

Though he often leveled charges of corruption against council members – which he said he could prove with data mined from reams of city documents – they had fond words for the late activist who ran for office in 2002.

At the close of Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Bob Holbrook called Allord’s sudden death a “great shock.” He recounted how the activist was “a very determined guy” who would even show up at his front door to discuss City issues.

“He was a very colorful character and a very determined fellow,” said Council member Bobby Shriver. “I think everyone will miss his presence.”

Council member Ken Genser said Allord “had a really good heart.

“Whether you agreed with Chuck or not, he was always coming from a good place and his motivation was really pure,” Genser said.

Allord is survived by his mother, whom he lived with and cared for in an apartment n 10th Street.

Services originally scheduled for Saturday at Gates Kingsley and Gates Moeller Murphy funeral directors, 1925 Arizona, have been postponed until next week.