put in place before new businesses could establish themselves and flourish . While his approach was often criticized , Blake said that residents knew what they were getting when he received the majority of the votes in the 2018 election .

“ I exhibited all of my personality ,” Blake said . “ We had 10 debates and during those 10 debates it was obvious I [...] was there to fight .”

During the first meeting Blake attended following his election , he attempted to remove what he called the most “ egregious ” Design Review Board members Karen Luisi , Beck Monahan , and Lorraine Moloch .

“ I failed miserably . It was my first attempt at making changes and I got my ass handed to me basically , but I dusted myself off ,” Blake said . “ Every single meeting for four years , I made sure that if there was a reason to stand up and fight , I was going to . I was going to spare no one and I did so .”

Blake would ultimately succeed in recruiting and appointing new members for the Design Review Board . He would also address the issues that caused him to run in the first place , such as re-establishing the property rights of residents and collaborating with City Hall to streamline the arduous building process .

Blake wanted to get rid of the

oversight Village Laguna was empowering itself with when it came to how residents could and could not express themselves with their biggest investments- their homes .

Another issue tackled by Blake was the homeless population which was becoming an issue for the community . Although what Blake calls “ criminal transients ” made up a small percentage of the homeless population , they contributed to a large portion of the town ’ s crime rates . Recognizing this as an issue , Blake organized 10 seminars where community leaders came to hear concerns from residents .

“ I invited key stakeholders . I had Congressman Harley Rouda , Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris ,

the Director of the Friendship Shelter Dawn Price , and our Chief of Police Laura Farinella ,” Blake said .

To help deter the small population of transients from returning to the streets of Laguna , Blake visited the district attorney ’ s office in Santa Ana where a DA was dedicated to the city for assistance .

“ That was our biggest accomplishment that I had during my term ,” Blake said . “ I would call a perfect storm of situations that we enacted as a state that made it possible for people to do drugs , to steal , and to create a homeless situation which destroyed major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles , and ruined coastal communities close to us like Venice and Santa Monica . I wanted to ensure that didn ’ t happen to my

beloved town .”

Leaving his council member position , Blake feels good about his actions and decisions for the issues he believed in . However , Blake does believe that if he got support from then-Mayor Sue Kempf and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whelan , the four years might not have been as difficult .

“ Bob and Sue kept their hands clean for four years while I did all the dirty work up there . Maybe if I didn ’ t have to fight by myself , maybe if Bob and Sue were fighting alongside me , the fight would not have been as ugly . Maybe if I had three people fighting , I wouldn ’ t have had to fight as hard ,” Blake said . “ If you look at the decisions that were made , the decisions that Bob , Sue , and I made , we were probably 85 percent on those decisions . It wasn ’ t like I was voting against anyone .”

But Blake is optimistic about the future of the city council and the community .

“ The two people that got elected , Alex Rounaghi is a brilliant young man and brings a voice to a young generation . Mark Orgill is a very smart guy who ’ s been involved in development in the past and has also been involved in bringing a more cultured visitor to this community ,” Blake said . “ Everything they need , the seeds have been planted . All they have to do is grow those seeds .”