Remembering James Robert Swab: A loyal friend, controversial city activist

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 7:06 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD -- Some people say they're your friend, and some people show it.

James Robert Swab was one of the latter -- loyal, candid, committed to his community and willing to put himself at risk for those he cherished, a close friend of Swab's said Tuesday.

Swab died June 23, at the age of 67. He is survived by Shirley Ann Swab, his wife of 35 years.

Fellow Carlsbad resident Annetta Cowan said Swab -- a long-time political activist, slow-growth advocate and outspoken citizen -- was true-blue.

Cowan said she first met Swab at a community group meeting at Carlsbad City Hall. She was writing a column for the Carlsbad Journal, a now-defunct newspaper.

"He was the person who, if he thought you were doing something worthwhile, he wanted to tell you and take you out to dinner," Cowan said. "So that's what he and his wife did."

Over dinner, Cowan and Swab struck up a friendship. They shared an interest in "old Carlsbad," the historic northwestern part of the city where Carlsbad began.

Cowan said Swab impressed her as someone who could turn a phrase, and more than being glib, was also honest.

"He was a very witty man, good sense of humor, and very idealistic," Cowan said. "He believed passionately in his ideals."

Swab gained notoriety for his blunt and sometimes vulgar forays into city politics. In 1992, he posted a sign in his front yard, slamming then-Councilwoman Ann Kulchin. The Blade-Citizen, a predecessor to the North County Times published an editorial branding Swab a "coward."

But Cowan, who said she didn't approve of the sign, praised Swab for his willingness to go out of his way to help friends in trouble.

"You could trust him with your life," Cowan said.

She said Swab helped her out in pinch more than once, including when she and her husband were remodeling their house and one of their subcontractors got arrested.

"There was a huge crisis, and (the subcontractor's employees) wouldn't come in and do it unless I gave them cash, and my husband wasn't in town at the moment.

Swab responded to Cowan's call for help by bringing over the cash, about $1,600.

"Jim didn't hesitate. That's the kind of person he was," Cowan said.

Born on Sept. 26, 1939 in Harrisburg, Pa., Swab graduated from Penn State University in 1961. He became a naval officer and saw service in Vietnam. He retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve with the rank of commander. Swab then served as a comptroller at Camp Pendleton.

Swab and his family moved to Carlsbad in 1975, and began a new career in real estate.

Cowan said Swab was unjustly accused by opponents as being an agent of developers. He was active in a group called Concerned Citizens, which sought to slow Carlsbad's growth.

-- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.