BY TOM OSBORNE

Bob Gentry , Lida Lenney , Toni Iseman : all three were local officials and environmental activists . In my nearly fifty years of living here , these are the mayors I remember for their courage and boldness in opposing offshore oil drilling , saving Laguna Canyon from developers ’ bulldozers , and supporting climate action , respectively . Some of them drew statewide attention for their green leadership .

Without being firebrands , they made sure good , green things happened . They all eventually left public office with legacies of respect and voters ’ profound gratitude for their vision and public service .

When the current council appoints our next mayor and mayor pro tem on

Dec . 12 , the environment will be on the table . How could it be otherwise , given the climate-related catastrophes that are mounting with the Earth ’ s rising temperatures ? The Highland Fire in Riverside County in late October is only the most recent of these calamities . Meanwhile , as our fire insurance goes up , sea level rise and increasing wave heights will continue to erode our retreating shoreline .

To its credit , city hall has largely been responsive to these matters . Where our city could have done more was with the opportunity to join several other cities in the Orange County Power Authority ( OCPA ), which would have provided Lagunans with a cleaner mix of electrical power via Community Choice Energy . I understand some of our officials are concerned about the earlier mismanagement of the OCPA , the short time left this year to collect data about our city ’ s electrical load records , and uncertainty about projected cost savings under CCE . When I spoke with council member Sue Kempf recently , she readily acknowledged the advantages of CCE and saw a place for it in Laguna ’ s future . But she was not alone in holding that our city government needed more time to conduct its “ due diligence ” to make sure that the mat-

ters just mentioned were addressed .

For sure , the deplorable mismanagement of the OCPA two years ago--the subject of an Orange County Grand Jury investigation--was in need of a major correction . The prior CEO of that organization was fired , and about two dozen structural and procedural reforms have been put in place by a new management team . I ’ ve met and talked with the interim CEO , attorney Joe Mosca , and came away uniformly impressed . Mosca has served as a city mayor and CEO of the joint power authority that operated San Diego County ’ s clean energy program . He intends to apply for the permanent OCPA position when it opens . Also , I ’ ve spoken with Irvine council member Kathleen Treseder , a distinguished professor of biology at UC Irvine , who simultaneously serves as an officer of the OCPA . She assures me that that agency ’ s former mess has been cleaned up , and Laguna should now join . A year ago , before reforms had been undertaken , she advised me not to urge our city to join . My point is that I trust her judgment , as does just about everyone who knows her .

When I learned recently that an ad-hoc committee in our city hall decided against joining the OCPA in 2023 , thereby forgoing access to

cleaner electricity , I was disappointed . Council member George Weiss was the lone dissenting voice . He wanted to expedite Laguna ’ s joining the reformed OCPA rather than wait another full year before our town could take advantage of CCE .

Weiss ’ s position on CCE and our city ’ s prospective membership in the OCPA was and remains that of an environmental leader . Only rarely since former mayors Gentry , Lenney and Iseman have I seen the bold thinking and courageous actions that once defined our city in environmental policymaking .

For me , George Weiss is clearly the one best equipped to move our city forward on the environmental matters that are becoming more critical by the day . Beyond that , Weiss ’ s transparency , his newsletter on city business , his council experience , his independent thinking , and perhaps most of all , his civic valor only add to the many other reasons why he should be Laguna ’ s next mayor . Let council know what you think : CityCouncil @ lagunabeachcity . net .

Tom Osborne is an environmental historian , book author and climate activist . He and his wife , Ginger , co-lead the Laguna chapter of Citizens ’ Climate Lobby . tomosborne @ cox . net .

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Will they be eight , nine or 10 percent ?

There ’ s a home of 2020 valued at $ 7 million with a $ 6,600 assessment . Down the street , a small fixer is $ 52,000 . A 10 + unit condo each has a $ 10,000 , while a multiunit apartment building on same size parcel is $ 52,000 . Does this sound fair ? How about $ 14,000 add-on for “ potential view ?” Yes , you ’ re charged in advance of possibly building a second story !

Safety benefit ? Twenty percent is justification under this project . Why aren ’ t utility companies contributing at least 20

percent each ? Why are residents being asked to build infrastructure for the city and utilities companies ? It isn ’ t a safety-first issue . It ’ s an aesthetic issue per the report - 70 percent to look pretty .

Aside from the early postcard notice , some didn ’ t receive ballots or again mistook them as junk . Why weren ’ t these in larger envelopes or color alerting us to the importance ?

This project will not bring all wires underground . This neighborhood will still have nine supercharged poles to feed 380

homes . Are we safer or just 20 percent safer ??

Why is the project engineer assisting block captains now ? I find it a conflict of interest for a city employee to be helping a group that is pushing in favor of this project . As much as the city wants this , it is wrong . Residents must know the cons , not just the pros .

Aesthetics or safety ? Do residents realize that other neighborhoods were funded by city and utilities , cash or “ credits ?” Shouldn ’ t this project be postponed until

it is fair and safe for all ? Forcing this onto older residents with fixed incomes will force them out of their homes to favor those concerned only about aesthetics .

You can change your vote : property owners can change or withdraw submitted ballots any time before the end of the public hearing . The submitted ballot must be surrendered prior to a replacement ballot being sent out .

Michael LaRiche , on behalf of The Woods Cove Neighborhood for NO