The Pasadena City Council and Pasadena Unified School District Board adjourned their special joint meeting on Monday in memory of former state senator and Los Angeles City Council Member Nate Holden, who died at 95 on May 7.
Holden’s son is Chris Holden, former Pasadena City Councilmember and Mayor, and former California Assemblymember representing Pasadena.
Councilmember Steve Madison proposed the ceremonial adjournment early in the meeting, saying, “I think it’d be fully appropriate based on Chris Holden’s long service on the council to adjourn tonight in memory and honor of his father Nate Holden… based just on Nate’s significant contributions to this community and this region.”
Madison offered highlights of Holden’s remarkable life story and public service career while expressing personal condolences.
“His obit, which ran in the LA Times, was truly inspiring,” Madison said. “A young man who was a gifted engineering and drafting student whose teachers would give him false low grades because they didn’t believe a Black man should be in those professions who persisted and became not only a successful professional in that walk of life, but then spurred by those experiences to become an elected official and served at various levels and various capacities for many, many years.”
Madison added, “My heart goes out to Chris. I’ve lost both of my parents, so I know how painful that is as many of us do.”
Councilmember Rick Cole, who also had served with Chris Holden on the Council years ago, added his personal reflections.
Cole said Nate Holden “was a tireless, courageous man who definitely marched to the beat of his own drum and he was fearless when he had a cause in his sights.”
Mayor Victor Gordo acknowledged, “I knew Nate… as some of us did… a real public servant.”
Mayor Gordo noted Holden’s “great sense of humor, too” before the meeting formally adjourned in his memory, with School District Board members joining in the ceremonial gesture.
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