Q&A

Jan Marx

She has spent most of her life and career advocating for the preservation of open space. And, after retiring from her law practice last year, she is one year into her term as Mayor of San Luis Obispo. We dropped by one morning to get to know her a little better and find out how things are going in her new role so far…

What’s it like being the mayor of Happy Town, USA?

It’s all fun. I really enjoy it. I work over 50 hours a week, so it’s more than a full time job. And often it’s on the weekends and in the evenings, as well. But, I really like all of the community events. I spend a lot of time talking with constituents, answering emails, talking on the phone, and going to visit, for example, if a neighborhood is having a problem, I may go out there and meet with the people to see if there is any way that I can help. Sometimes, someone wishes to honor a person and they will give me a call. Things like, “Grandpa’s turning 101, would you come to his birthday party?” So, most of the time, I say, “Sure!” I like all of that stuff.

How did you end up here?

I was born in Long Beach, California. My father was stationed there during World War II. I went off to Stanford and got married while I was still an undergraduate – I’m still married to the same guy. He got a job teaching at Columbia University in New York. So, we went there, and I enrolled as a student. Then we moved to British Columbia to “the end of the road.” It’s literally where Highway 101 ends, a little fishing village called Lund. We homesteaded on 30 acres. We had all kinds of animals. We had our children there and founded a branch of a Canadian community college there. We lived in Lund for about 10 years, and we go back every summer. We still have a home there. It’s like a home away from home.

What was it like living in rural British Columbia?

It’s the hardest way of life that I’ve ever experienced, but I was in my twenties. If I get into a pinch now, I remember that I’m not taking care of 13 goats, a horse, a half a dozen pigs, all these chickens, sheep, a cow, two kids and working full time and gardening. I was teaching children’s theatre in the elementary schools and trying to get the community college established. I was a theatre minor in college, and that is how I put myself through college, by doing children’s theatre. I really enjoyed that work.

Somehow, moving to “the end of the road” sounds so poetic. What motivated the decision?

We were kind of in retreat from the harsh political and urban reality of what was happening in the United States, and in New York City, when we moved to Lund, which was in 1970. We were getting ready to have kids. I was really looking to build community; that’s very much what I like to do wherever I live. So, that’s where I first got interested in land use planning because we were involved in making a master plan for the peninsula. Lund is at the end of the peninsula, it’s almost like an island. Our time there was really about providing education, building community, raising a family, and learning how to live off the land as much as possible. It was very much the kind of life my grandparents lived in rural Missouri. We were making most of what we used, raising most of our own food. We were really trying to raise all of our own food, but there are certain limits to that. You couldn’t grow wheat up there, or rice. It was a very short growing season. Here, it’s a great climate, and you can garden year round. Right now is a great time to plant broccoli, lettuce, and spinach.

What do you like to do for fun - still raising farm animals?

No, but I have a little Yorkie. She’s angry at me right now because I didn’t take her for a walk this morning, I came and saw you instead [laughter]. I like to hike, I enjoy reading, I’m part of a book group, I work out at the gym, and I’ve got four grandchildren. We have a son and a daughter and they each have two little boys. Two of my grandchildren live in San Luis and two of them live in Sun Valley, Idaho. This Christmas they’re coming out to visit us. We have our son’s surfboard and wetsuit in our garage, so that’s a guarantee that we get to see him – he likes the ocean. My husband and I are both really involved with the children and we like to travel. I like to cook, and I like to garden. I enjoy going to the theatre. I love music.

Speaking of books, have you read anything good lately?

River of Doubt, is an interesting book. Theodore Roosevelt is one of my heroes. I love all of the things he did for the environment, and he was also fiscally conservative. I’m conservative when it comes to spending money, and I want to make sure we get a good result for every penny we spend on the city. I also want to preserve the environment, and I’m interested in principles of social justice for people. River of Doubt is about what he did after he was president. It focuses on his expedition in Latin America. It’s a fascinating story. SLO LIFE