John P. Quimby (1935-2012)

The family of former Assemblyman John P. Quimby announced that he died on Sunday night. Quimby, who served as a member of the San Bernardino City Council starting in the early 1950s, is probably best remembered for legislation he authored in1965 that required developers to set aside land or money for construction of local parks as a condition for construction.

Quimby later served as the lobbyist for the County of San Bernardino. Regarding the unfortunate need for local governments to lobby the state government, Quimby famously commented;

“I wish government wasn’t for sale like this, but the fact is you have to hustle to get your share. Local governments without lobbyists see the ones with representation doing better so they say, ‘We need to get our butts on board and get one or they’re going to steal everything from us.”