‘Protest’ Bob Hansen, Homeless Advocate, Dies

Longtime homeless activist, perennial city council candidate, and political class clown “Protest” Bob Hansen died of a sudden heart attack Monday, March 12, at the age of 76 at his home outside Santa Paula. 

In the 1980s, Hansen, who then lived in a camper van with his wife, Nancy McCradie, burst onto the local political landscape as a loud, insistent, outrageous, courageous, theatrical, sweet, funny, and messy voice for homeless rights. He was part of a cadre of local activists who did not seek to speak for the homeless; they actually were homeless. They were demanding not so much assistance as their civil rights. As such, Hansen and his wife helped successfully challenge the law barring people without fixed addresses from voting. 

Hansen, who relished the controlled explosion of a public protest, participated in a demonstration that blocked Highway 101 for half an hour. He frequently showed up in front of the City Council, demanding City Hall provide public restrooms for people on the streets. He advocated for the creation of day centers, complained of police harassment, sought ceremonial moments of silence, and was quick to quote John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.” 

Sometimes, his soliloquies meandered, and he would refuse to step away from the podium; police would be called. Hansen was probably arrested more than 20 times. 

Along the way, he ran multiple times for mayor and City Council. In one election, he garnered 2,000 votes, said McCradie. 

Hansen grew up in Los Angles in a middle-class family. During the Vietnam War, he served in the military, but not in Vietnam. He was a talented runner — he ran the mile relay for Pierce Community College — and was reportedly practicing to compete for a spot on the Olympic team when, according to McCradie, he “just stopped.” 

He got married, had a daughter, and got divorced. About 1980, he moved to Santa Barbara, where he lived in his vehicle and fell in with a like-minded crowd for whom protest was part cause, part party. They were funded by Kit Tremaine, then a well-known philanthropist in town who put her money behind hell-raising efforts on behalf of the homeless. 

As the years passed and the funding dried up, Hansen’s activism became more episodic. So, too, was his residence in Santa Barbara. Most recently, Hansen and McCradie lived in Santa Paula. In recent years, McCradie has become more energized with the Committee for Social Justice, seeking again to provide a forum so homeless people can speak for themselves. Hansen, made aware this was not a stage setting for his theatrics, did not engage. 

A memorial service for Hansen at Pershing Park has been set for noon on April 1, his birthday, at the Veterans’ Memorial Building (112 W. Cabrillo Blvd.).