Florence Abbey’s unsuccessful 1964 bid for state assembly inspired her granddaughter, Kimberly Layton, to be a woman of action. “She would take me to the polls every year when I was little,” recalls Layton, 39. “She was an amazing woman who was full of fire.”

Layton didn’t intend to follow in her grandmother’s political footsteps. She was a musical theater major in college when a chance phone call led to working for Assemblywoman Lucy Killea. She eventually became chief of staff. After serving as director of Intergovernmental Relations for the city of San Diego, Layton was Mayor Susan Golding’s longest-serving chief of staff.

“It was an awesome thing to work on things that had a positive impact on people,” she says. “But by the end of Mayor Golding’s term, I was tired of being on call 24/7. I needed to do something different.”

That something different turned out to be with the San Diego Chargers as the director of public affairs and corporate/community relations.

“It’s a cool thing to be proactive, rather than reactive, which is taxing after a while,” she says. Her husband, San Diego police officer Farrell Layton, also is impressed with the fringe benefits of her job. Most satisfying for her have been the Chargers’ college scholarship program and working with many nonprofits.

Layton also is a board member for STAR/PAL, Downtown Partnership, Starlight Theatre and City Moves. She has served as commissioner for a city of Santee appeals board, and vice chair of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is a Rotary member and sings with an octet. Someday she may return to politics, but she will always remember her grandmother’s legacy.

“I love helping other people,” she says. “It feels like something is missing if I don’t give back.”

— Patricia Morris Buckley