Knabe thanks Peninsula,
wishes he could do more
“There are times I wish I could stay on and be more helpful,” 4th District Supervisor Don Knabe said at the Palos Verdes Chamber of Commerce dinner at Terranea two weeks ago. But the law says otherwise. After 20 years as a county supervisor, Knabe terms out in November. Julie, his wife of 48 years also said otherwise. She and her husband have enjoyed an estimated 12,000 “rubber chicken” dinners during his 36 years of elected service, and that’s enough, she said at the dinner. (For the record, Terranea served barbequed ribs with risotto).
One of his proudest accomplishments, Knabe said is the Safe Surrender program established in 2001.
“It’s a no name, no shame, no blame. All the mother or father has to do is bring the child across the threshold of a hospital or a police or fire station. They can’t leave the child in the parking lot. Parents have 14 days to reclaim their child. I’m so proud of the 142 mothers who have had the guts to do the right thing,” Knabe said of mothers who surrendered their children.
He said he is establishing a college scholarship fund for the surrendered children.
Knabe was presented with the Palos Verdes Citizen of the Year award, one of dozens of tributes he has received as his final term winds down. He offered the following advice to his fellow politicians, in what might have been interpreted as a commentary on the current presidential election had he not made the observation at a Torrance chamber dinner several months ago: “Politics should be the art of problem solving, not yelling ‘sell-out’ every time someone gives a little to solve a problem. We shouldn’t celebrate that kind of behavior. Teddy Roosevelt said, ‘Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.’ Leadership doesn’t need to be dramatic, with trumpets blaring. It’s doing what you ask others to do, it’s setting a good example.”
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