by Kevin Cody
Hermosa Beach politics entered the video era last week with the social media release of interviews with the five Hermosa Beach city council candidates on the November 5 ballot.
The show’s airing came one week after Hermosa politics entered the video cartoon era with the social media release of two political cartoons. One of the cartoons, paid for by the City of Hermosa Beach, describes the benefits of measure HB, a .75% sales tax increase on the November 5 ballot. The other cartoon, paid for by the residents group Hermosa Deserves Better, is critical of Measure HB.
The video show, “BrownAction on ION with Chris ‘CB’ Brown,” is a multi-platform “Elect.ions ioncast” hosted by Hermosa native, and California Beach Volleyball Association President Chris Brown. It was produced by Hermosa Beach resident Dave Behar for ION Hermosa Beach, and filmed at Unita, in downtown Hermosa Beach.
In addition to the five council candidates, the show features four Hermosa Beach residents who have been publicly critical of the current city council. (This reporter also appears briefly.
In his introduction, Brown said, the show offers candidates an opportunity to address Hermosa residents directly. The show begins with the four residents identifying what they think are the most important election issues.
(The following quotes from the 35 minute program are edited for brevity and clarity.)
The first resident to speak is Randy Balik, an environmental contractor and renewable energy entrepreneur. He is a 30-year Hermosa resident, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2021 special election to replace Councilmember Hany Fangary, who resigned mid term.
“I’m not opposed to a new City Hall, or increasing the sales tax. But first, I want to see our city come up with a good economic development plan,” Balik said.
Balik also expressed concern, along with the other residents interviewed, that Hermosa’s small town character is being undercut by the city staff’s inaccessibility.
“I used to like going to get my parking permit renewed at the permit counter. I liked interacting with staff at the cashier’s desk. The chit chat made you feel the city staff was part of your life. There’s none of that anymore. Everything’s done electronically,” he said.
Jon David, a Hermosa native and downtown property owner, said, “Our downtown is dying. It’s a big concern of mine.”
“I want to get somebody on the Council who understands the issues. The City Hall is a perfect example. Is that an investment that is going to create foot traffic, and create extra value that will flow back to the residents. I don’t have that answer. But I know we need somebody up there asking those questions.”
On the issue of Hermosa’s culture, David said, “I am afraid of losing the spirit that was Hermosa when I was a kid growing up on The Strand, the spirit of freedom. Everybody felt it. A lot of that culture still exists, but a lot has been squashed. We’re a surf culture, a skate culture. Let’s never lose that.”
On “the strain between city council members and dissenting residents,” David said, “Both sides are treating each other rudely. That needs to stop. City leadership needs to recognize this is a real issue. If residents don’t believe in the city, the council is not going to be able to achieve what it wants.”
Laura Pena is a downtown Hermosa business owner. She served on the city’s economic development committee.
“The committee proposed 30 economic development strategies. But the city has adopted just two — a downtown lighting district and a wayfinding (signage) project,” she said.
“If the council told me they were going to allocate the Measure HB sales tax revenue to fund economic development, you’d be seeing a sign on my head that says, ‘Vote for the sales tax.’”
She recognized that sales tax revenue, by law, cannot be assigned to a specific project. But she said she’d like a signal from the council that it will prioritize economic development.
Pena also accused council members of “disparaging” residents who criticize them at council meetings. “Their character is questioned. Why would anybody go up and speak?” she asked
“I recommended town halls, where residents could come in and ask questions and get real answers,” she said.
Construction contractor and Hermosa native Rick Koenig compared his experience of going to City Hall today, and in the past.
“I really felt like one of the great unwashed who was begging for scraps when I went there recently. I used to go in to see the city manager, and if he was busy, he’d say, ‘Wait in my office. Grab a soda from the fridge.’ There’s probably not going to be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade this year because someone in the city says security costs have gone up. That person may be doing what that person thinks is right. But as they say in the westerns, ‘He ain’t from around here,’” Koenig said.
Council candidate Brian Sheil was the first to respond to the four residents’ concerns. Sheil is an entertainment production company owner, and performer.
“I perform at many restaurants in town and to a person all of these venues are afraid of the city. They don’t want to get involved with anything to do with the city because it causes them grief and delays, and it costs them money. That cannot be the relationship,” he said.
He placed responsibility for the problem on the old guard.
“It’s the same group of people who’ve been playing musical chairs for the last 30 years, leaping from the Parks and Recreation Commission to the Planning Commission to the city council. It’s time for some new blood,” Sheil said.
He characterized the city manager’s relationship with the council as “the tail wagging the dog.” As an example he cited the proposed changes in the city’s communication protocols.
“The city manager has final approval of all press releases, and after the press release is done, city council members are ‘advised’ not to express disagreement with the press release. It’s like going to the Supreme Court and saying judges can’t issue dissenting opinions,” he said.
Candidate Jani (pronounced Yani) Lange is a Hermosa native and Parks and Rec Commissioner.
He addressed the issue of local culture by describing himself as “a graduate of the University of Hermosa Beach.”
“I fell in love with all things ‘ocean.’ Volleyball, surfing, skateboarding, music. I want to give that experience to my children,” he said.
“I travel internationally, and everywhere I go people smile when I say Hermosa Beach. I will celebrate our culture. I lead by example. For the past 10 years on the Parks and Rec commission, I’ve made everyone feel welcome. I will continue doing that on the city council.”
Candidate Michael Keegan is a former city council member (2001 to 2009), and founder of Manhattan Bread and Bagel.
“I’m only going to serve one term. I just want to get us back on track,” he said.
“Hermosa is always going to have limited resources. We don’t have a commercial district, we don’t have a shopping mall. We don’t have a huge hotel complex to bring in a lot of income. So we have to spend our money more carefully than Redondo and Manhattan. We actually have to be better than them,” Keegan said.
“The council is talking about a new civic center for $125 million. A resident said to me, ‘Why? I never go to City Hall. Fix our streets, and curbs. Make sure the lines on the street are painted. That’s what I’m interested in.’
“The city hired a public information officer — a publicist — for the City Council and for the city manager to make themselves look good. I would put that money into the downtown. The businesses need the city as a partner,” Keegan said.
Councilmember and City of Riverside fire captain Mike Detoy is seeking reelection to a second term. (Councilmember Justin Massey, whose term also expires in November, is not seeking reelection).
Detoy distanced himself from criticism that the council is hostile to residents, and inaccessible.
“It could be perception. It could be reality. But I’ve always been that person on the city council who is easily accessible. My phone number is public. If anyone has a concern I’m happy to receive text messages, emails, and phone calls and to meet with residents.”
“It could be a new staff member who interprets a policy according to the letter of the law instead of the Hermosa way. There’s a middle way. That’s why we were elected.”
He praised the city staff.
“We’ve had a city manager with us for six years, which has brought stability. City managers all around us are quitting, leaving their cities with interim city managers.”
A benefit of stability, Detoy said, is the city retaining its own police department. “During one of my first city council meetings we faced the option of outsourcing our police to the Los Angeles County Sheriff, which was clearly not what the community wanted. But our officers were skipping to Manhattan or Redondo for better pay. Today, I can proudly say we are the only fully staffed police department in Southern California. We have a new police chief who will answer anyone’s phone call.”
On the subject of economic development, Detoy said, “We’re in the middle of a zoning update, and modernizing our building code so we can get that influx of private investment while still protecting our unique downtown and beach culture.”
The final candidate to speak was Elka Worner, a Hermosa native, and retired newspaper reporter and cable news producer.
“I’ve been knocking on people’s doors, and I’ve just been amazed by how engaged everyone is. But when they go to City Hall and talk about their problems, they don’t feel like they’re getting a response. I went to one meet-and-greet and a woman said her 90-year-old father, someone who has lived here for 70 years, went to City Hall and was treated horribly. That should not be happening. That’s not what Hermosa is all about. We’re kind people, we’re friendly people, and we respect everyone, young, and old.
“Now all the press releases and all the comments have to go through the City Manager. When I spoke up about that at a council meeting, I was personally attacked. My profession was attacked. I think councilmembers do this deliberately so people won’t get engaged. The city council is supposed to oversee the city manager and staff, and that doesn’t appear to be happening, because I see no pushback from the council.”
On the subject of a new civic center, Worner said, “I spoke at one of the council meetings, and said, ‘Before we move ahead with a $60,000 community engagement consultant, why don’t we survey residents and ask do they want a new civic center.’ Of course, I was shut down,” Worner said. “They went ahead and hired a community engagement consultant.”
The complete show can be viewed at BrownAction on ION with Chris “CB” Brown. ER
