Laguna Beach City Council selected Sue Kempf as its new mayor and council member Alex Rounaghi as mayor pro tem during its Dec. 12 meeting.
During the extraordinary business portion of the meeting, councilmember Mark Orgill motioned to elect Rounaghi as mayor pro tem, which was passed unanimously. Rounaghi then motioned for Kempf to be mayor, which passed with a 4-0 vote, with George Weiss abstaining.
Kempf was elected to the Laguna Beach City Council in 2018 and previously served as mayor in 2022.
Kempf’s city council initiatives include the 2021 neighborhood and environmental protection plan to reduce visitor effects on Laguna neighborhoods, improve city services for residents, and add environmental protection programs. For example, implementing the 2019 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Plan to reduce the threat of wildfire in Laguna Beach and creating the Promenade on Forest, outdoor dining, and economic recovery programs for local businesses.
Outgoing Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen, who served as mayor five times since 2013, mentioned at the previous council meeting on Nov. 21 that he would not seek out the role again.
After accepting the mayoral role, Kempf read a resolution acknowledging Whalen’s work as Laguna Beach mayor. Some of his accomplishments included pursuing strategies for the undergrounding of Laguna Canyon Road, organizing a wildlife preparedness town hall meeting last September, developing a comprehensive parking master plan, purchasing the St. Catherine’s School, assuming city responsibility for all South Laguna Beaches and securing $22 million from the county for continuation of services, among many others.
“Bob Whalen has diligently and passionately pursued issues of importance to the community and has provided leadership regarding numerous projects and issues – above all, representing our beautiful city with dignity and respect. I couldn’t be prouder to serve with him,” Kempf said.
Whalen said it’s always an honor to serve as mayor, “whether you’ve done it once or more than once.”
“It is a big responsibility to act as mayor. You are the primary spokesperson for the city,” Whalen said. “I’ve always done my best to approach it with a sense of optimism and try to project what the city is, which is a well-run organization that has a lot of employees who work very hard every day to make this place go.”
The new appointments came after councilmember Weiss proposed a mayoral rotation instead of appointments during the council’s Nov. 21 regular meeting. The proposal suggested all elected council members should have the opportunity to be called mayor or mayor pro tem during their time in office.
During that meeting, support from the public was mixed, with some agreeing the assignment of mayor and mayor pro tem should be available to all council members and others stating the role should go to the most qualified, which was an opinion shared by the majority of city council. No vote was taken after the discussion, as the item did not require any action.
Laguna Beach City Council will take a break for the holidays and resume its usual schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 5 p.m.
