In this oral history taken by Martha Nicoloff, his co-organizer of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance campaign, Ken Hughes sketches his trajectory from uninvolved Economics student at Cal to community activist.
Like many, Hughes came to community organizing through the antiwar movement. When his roommate was jailed during May Day antiwar demonstrations, he tried to get him bailed out through the People’s Coalition for Peace and Justice. Discovering that the organization’s efforts were ineffective, he founded “People’s Legal Services” and bailed out his friend and others.
From there, Hughes turned to tenant’s rights and welfare rights — which became a bridge to activist work that targeted runaway development. When he proposed the idea of an initiative to Martha Nicoloff, Nicoloff urged him to help draft the document, and the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative was the upshot.
