POWAY: Mr. Poway enjoying life after City Council

After a month off, Bob Emery is finally relaxing

By GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Friday, January 2, 2009 6:08 PM PST ∞

POWAY ---- Thomas Jefferson retired to Monticello, but Poway's longest-serving founding father is content in the three-bedroom fixer-upper he and his bride bought 40 years ago.

"It scared me to death to sign those papers," Bob Emery said about the $17,500 loan he took out to buy the house on Mountain Road. "I'd never signed a loan for anything over a hundred bucks before."

At the time, Emery had recently married his wife, Suzanne, whom he met while studying political science and history at San Diego State University.

In 1968, his mother lived in Escondido and was driving through Poway when she spotted a rental she thought they'd like.

The couple, both teachers, found a home to buy the following year.

"I knew very little of Poway," said Emery, who turned 68 on Dec. 28. "It had a population of about 12,000, mostly open spaces and horses. But we liked it. And that's what made me interested in thinking of what we could do to keep the character it had."

Not yet 30 years old, Emery had no idea he would commit so much of his life to protecting his new town.

In 1970, he joined the Poway Community Advisory Committee and was the group's last chairman in 1980, when 52 percent of Poway residents voted to incorporate as a city.

That same election saw Emery getting the most votes for Poway's first City Council.

He ran and was re-elected to the council seven times.

Emery, whose long tenure earned him the moniker Mr. Poway, retired last month after 28 years of continuous service.

He never sought higher office, never moved from the home he bought in 1969 and has few regrets about his years on the council.

One month out of office, Emery said he misses the flow of information he regularly received from City Hall that kept him abreast of staff activities, public input and proposals.

But he doesn't miss the paperwork.

"My recycling bin doesn't fill up as fast as it used to," he said.

Emery admits that the thought of running for state office did cross his mind, but said he enjoyed time with his family and his career as a middle school teacher too much to move to Sacramento.

Politicians elected to Sacramento "seem to get a lobotomy and forget where they came from," said Emery, adding that he believed he was more effective working on local issues.

Emery also had no interest in the term limits and partisan politics that would come with state office.

As a politician who would have missed much of his council career if Poway had term limits, Emery said his years on the panel allowed him to understand regional issues and work on boards outside of his own city.

As for political parties, Emery calls himself a "moderate pragmatist."

"I'm a registered Republican, but I haven't voted for one in a long time," he said. "I'm a strong advocate for local government, and the worst thing that can happen is to interject partisan politics at the local level."

Looking back at his council career, Emery said he hopes to be remembered for sticking to the general plan, which he said has helped maintain the city's character and has been closely followed, with one noticeable exception.

"I think the biggest surprise to me was our going for and approving the Poway Business Park," he said. "That area was going to be rural/residential."

The business park has brought up to 20,000 jobs to Poway so far and ultimately may employ almost 30,000 people, he said.

Emery said he finally decided to retire from the council because the city is in good shape and because he has a new grandson, Nyack Emery, the son of his daughter, Kristy, and her husband, Erik Hoffman.

The young family live in Sacramento, the city Emery wanted to avoid as a politician but now hopes to visit more often as a proud grandfather.

Someday, Emery said, he probably will return to the council chambers that recently have been renamed in his honor.

The visit will be as a citizen, though, although he said he's not sure what would bring him back.

But if somebody intends to mess with the general plan, Emery said, they can expect a visit from him.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.