Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen has served in his role as first among equals for four of the past five years. Mayor Pro Tem Sue Kempf first held the role in 2021, and she is the only other to serve as mayor in that period.
Some residents have raised concerns about the roles remaining in the hands of a few, rather than providing for other elected officials to lead in their time on the dais. Of the same mind, Councilman George Weiss this week called on his council colleagues to consider a policy change that would implement a rotation for the leadership positions.
The discussion at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting stoked fiery passion from some members of the public, who recalled contentious moments during meetings that made decorum and civility a hot topic in town.
“While public service commitments are appreciated, and we do appreciate all you do, controlling trends like this, it sends the message that either we don’t have capable electives to serve us as mayor or mayor pro tem, or other electives are purposely being shut out,” resident MJ Abraham said. “Whatever the reason, many Laguna Beach stakeholders feel it’s time council did determine and define the order and the line of a succession.”
Weiss said he appreciated the residents who spoke in support of the item, adding that he did not solicit anyone to appear before the council.
“I think it’s fair, I think it’s democratic,” Weiss said of the proposal. “I would also probably agree to an elected mayor position every two years.”
Asked by Councilman Alex Rounaghi what the municipal code had to say about the selection of a mayor, City Atty. Megan Garibaldi said the code did not reference such appointments. State law requires the city to select the roles.
“When people go to vote, they vote for city council members, and if we had an elected mayor, that would be different,” Rounaghi said. Addressing Weiss directly, he said “George, if you’re interested in putting that before the voters, I would support that so the voters can make that decision. … Voters elect council members to make tough decisions, and I think the selection of the mayor is just one of those decisions.”
Other residents said they felt the current practice of filling the roles by a vote of the council works just fine. Resident Tom Gibbs suggested the ability of a mayor to be voted into the role by the panel in successive years was an “attribute of the system.”
“The mayor also runs city council meetings,” Gibbs said. “He or she needs to be effective, orderly and appear fair. Simply put, you need the best person for this job. Some are better than others. At times, there are divisive members on the city council that should not be mayor. At times, there are mayors who simply do not have the temperament to be mayor, and they should not be mayor, and some simply do not have the qualities needed to represent the city.”
The agenda item arrived just ahead of the upcoming mayor and mayor pro tem appointments in December. Council members did not show support for a rotational policy. No action was required, so no vote was taken.
“In the short time that I’ve been on council, I’ve come to realize that the role of mayor is not as ceremonial as I once thought,” said Councilman Mark Orgill, adding that the most important thing to him is stability and setting up the city to perform at its best.
Kempf backed Whalen’s leadership, particularly in navigating the city through the coronavirus pandemic.
“You have to be able to represent the city in media, … particularly during times of disaster,” Kempf said. “No one wants to do that. That’s not something that you relish as a mayor, but it’s something that you have to do, and Bob did an excellent job during the pandemic. We went through some very difficult times, and we came out in excellent shape.”
For his part, Whalen said he would not be seeking or accepting the assignment of mayor in the year ahead.
