by Bob Pinzler
It is ironic that Bill Brand, the Mayor of Redondo Beach who died over this last weekend, got his start fighting a project called “Heart of the City.” To many, he was exactly that heart, giving years of his life, including those when valiantly fighting the cancer that ultimately killed him, to the betterment of the quality of life of the people he represented.
During his 15 years serving first the people of District 2 as their Councilmember, and then the City as a whole as Mayor, Bill believed in preserving, in fact, reestablishing, the way of life we had all come to this beach community to relish.
His primary dream was restoring the land on which the AES power plant sits to its natural habitat. By doing so, the open space it would provide would benefit generations of the people of this area.
Another legacy Bill will leave behind is the lesson of perseverance. When first elected, he was a lone voice for the principles that were the basis of his election. Being the one on a four-to-one City Council is not fun. Nor does it provide many opportunities for hope.
Yet, Bill persevered. He built relationships with new Council members, and with the elected officials that have served us at the County, in Sacramento, and in Washington. He established and led a coalition that enabled the implementation of legislation at the Council level and by initiative. State funding was obtained for power plant site projects. In his final years, he saw the power plant finally shut down, opening opportunities for open space development.
The question often asked of public officials as they leave office is, “Has what you have done helped to make our lives better?” Without question Bill Brand answered with a resounding “yes.”
It is now up to us to raise up that fallen flag and lead. Not only to complete what Bill began, but to expand upon it. Often people are said to be a “hard act to follow,” However, it is incumbent upon us to not let that keep us from working as hard as we did with him. In fact, without Bill, we will just have to work that much harder.
Bob Pinzler served on the Redondo Beach City Council for two terms, from April 1993 to March 2001. ER
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