James Michael “Jim” Rady, an Escondido City Council member for 12 years who served two terms as mayor, died Sept. 18 at his home, according to a death notice published Sunday.
Cause of death was cancer, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune obituary.
He was 73.
Rady served on the council from 1976 to 1988 and as mayor from June 1982 to June 1984 and again from June 1986 to June 1988. He attempted a political comeback in 2000 and 2004, when he challenged incumbent City Treasurer Kenneth Hugins, but lost by the same margin, about 18 percentage points, in both races.
In 1982, he ran for Congress as a Republican — with the endorsement of former Rep. Clair Burgener.
Burgener, who died in 2006, recalled in a 1990 interview that Rady finished fifth. “He was and is an excellent man but apparenty not a good candidate,” he said. “He would have been a fine member of Congress.”
Rady was known for his “intellect and directness,” said the death notice. “In his capacity as mayor, he enjoyed being part of the efforts that created important projects for the city including the Escondido Auto Park, North County Fair Shopping Center and California Center for the Arts, Escondido.”
He also served on the San Diego County Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board in 1991.
A 1987 article in the Los Angeles Times depicted Rady as “perhaps his city’s most prominent pro-development spokesman,” but one who advised the City Council to “put the brakes on growth.”
Our condolences to the family of former Escondido Mayor Jim Rady.
— Patio Playhouse (@PatioPlayhouse) September 18, 2015
In 1992, Rady was critical of freshman U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, later imprisoned in a bribery scandal. Rady said Cunningham “frankly doesn’t fit our district up here.”
“I guess he’s going to be elected, but I haven’t been turned on by him, and I don’t know anyone who has,” Rady told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’m going to vote for him, but I’m not happy about it.”
One of five children born in New York City to Eleanor Leavy Rady and James Walter Rady, Jim Rady grew up in New York City and Long Island, graduating from Hicksville High School in 1959. He attended Hofstra College, and his family moved to Escondido in 1962, the notice said.
He was drafted into the Army in 1964 and 20 years later founded and became CEO of Palomar Savings & Loan in Escondido. He retired from banking in 2000.
“Jim made Escondido civic duty a major part of his life,” the notice said. “He was a member of Kiwanis Club, Elks Lodge and the Chamber of Commerce. He was very active in the Downtown Business Association for many years.”
Rady appeared at an October 2013 City Council meeting to help push for the design phase of the city’s library expansion.
“Rady reminded the council that at one point there had been a $10 million reserve fund designated for the Library, which was then utilized for city operating expenses. He urged the current council to take this opportunity to ‘repay’ the library fund,” said a blog post.
Rady is survived by his wife of 16 years, Jo Ann Case Rady, and two daughters, Julie McKay of Escondido and Kara Wilson of Cardiff.
Rady’s ashes will be buried in his parents’ grave with only immediate family present, the notice said. No services were planned.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Escondido Library Foundation (where Rady was on the board) at the Escondido Main Library, 239 S. Kalmia St., Escondido, CA 92025.
