by Ann CHrISTOPH

We all have regrets in life , but I have a lingering one related to my service on the city council in the early 1990s . In those days , there was a simple rotation of mayor ’ s duties , and each council member was elected mayor when it seemed to be their turn . More senior members were chosen first , but eventually , a first-term council member would be mayor in the last year or two of their 4-year term .

It removed controversy from the selection , and it was fair . I was selected as mayor in my final year — 1993-94 .

But there had been an issue a couple of years before . Martha Collison had

served as mayor pro tem in 1989 when Lida Lenney was mayor , and it was Martha ’ s turn to be mayor in 1990 . Instead , she said that she didn ’ t want to be mayor and asked to be mayor pro tem for a second year . I understood that to mean Martha didn ’ t want to be mayor at all and just wanted to be mayor pro tem twice . But she cleared that up with me when it was time to select a mayor in 1991 . She asked for my vote , saying that now , she had cleared her schedule just to be mayor that year . Instead , I voted for Bob Gentry as mayor . Gentry , Lenney and I were three votes supporting the interests of Treasure Island residents , and Martha was often on the other side of those votes . Now I see that my vote was a mistake — how much better it would have been to be magnanimous , how much better it would have been to help Martha achieve this honorary position and perhaps work together in a more positive way .

The orderly rotation system faltered a bit , with Steve Dicterow serving as mayor for two terms in a row in 1997 and 1998 and Elizabeth Pearson in 2005 and 2006 . Still , every council member had the opportunity to serve as mayor at least once during all those years , except for Verna Rollinger , who was elected in 2008 . Apparently , out of

favor with a majority of the council - too much of an environmentalist and resident advocate - she was passed over in favor of other council members , all of whom had already had terms as mayor . In recent years , we have seen the rotation system for choosing the mayor unraveling . Bob Whalen has been mayor five times in his 11 years of office , and Sue Kempf , elected in 2018 and now mayor pro tem and in line to be mayor , already served as mayor in 2021 . Now we have another councilmember reaching the last year of his four-year term of office — also perhaps viewed as too much of an environmentalist and resident advocate — whose turn it is to be selected as mayor , council member George Weiss .

He ’ s had a hard time of it , often being on the losing end of many three / two votes — Whalen , Kempf and Blake , and now it is often Whalen , Kempf and Rounaghi . Mayor Kempf continually reprimanded him for confronting Peter Blake when he felt the former council member stepped over the line . Also , Weiss was implicated unfairly and negatively during the exit of our prior city manager , Shohreh Dupuis . She accused him of creating a hostile work environment for her and threatened to sue the city . This was belatedly explained at Tuesday ’ s council meeting ,

and it was clear that Dupuis ’ claim , not the merit of her accusations about George , was the reason for council ’ s settlement and her leaving . Yet some columnists have been unfairly blaming George for this debacle .

All the while , he works to give residents a voice and keep them informed .

Who else gets out a professionally prepared email newsletter summarizing his take on items on the council agenda ?

He is thorough , conscientious and cares about Laguna ’ s future . He deserves support from the rest of the council .

The next mayor will be selected at the first meeting in December . It happens very quickly , with no public input . It ’ s usually as though the selection has already been worked out . Will the three-vote majority just select one among them ? Kempf or Rounaghi ? Or even Whalen for another term ? Or will the council come together , be magnanimous and elect George Weiss as mayor ? That would be a proud day for Laguna : a new city manager , a new city attorney and an inclusive , united council .

Ann is a landscape architect and was Laguna Beach mayor from 1993 to 1994 . She is also a long-time board member of Village Laguna , Inc .