KEYT
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Former Santa Barbara mayor and visionary Hal Conklin passed away on Friday. He was 75 years old.
Conklin died at the Serenity House on Miramonte Drive in Santa Barbara where he lived while battling brain cancer. He was diagnosed with the disease in September 2020 and immediately had surgery to remove the tumors, according to Noozhawk.
Conklin served on the Santa Barbara City Council for almost 15 years, from 1977 to 1993. He became mayor of Santa Barbara in 1993 and ran again in 2017.
He was also a leader on the Community Environmental Council after the 1969 oil spill.
Community members visited the garden below the El Encanto hotel on Saturday to leave flowers in his memory.