Mayor Caroline Petty. Photo by Adrienne Slaughter
Councilwoman Carolyn Petty was elected mayor of Hermosa Beach by acclamation Tuesday night.
Petty, who had been serving as mayor pro tempore, received the support of all three other council members. Councilman Hany Fangary will take Petty’s place as mayor pro tempore.
The mayoralty in Hermosa Beach is typically a nine-month position that rotates among the five elected councilmembers. Petty replaces Nannette Barragan, who resigned from the council last Wednesday to pursue a Congressional seat.
After being sworn in by former Hermosa Beach mayor Kathy Dunbabin, Petty addressed the council and audience and sounded an optimistic note about her upcoming term.
“It’s been a rough couple of years,” Petty said, drawing a mixture of groans and sighs from the audience. “I think it’s time to just take a pause, and be thankful for the fact that we live here.”
Petty indicated that “long-term financial planning” would be her first priority as mayor.
For much of the last decade, Hermosa had been hindered in that regard because of the Macpherson oil lawsuit, Petty said. Now that the issue was resolved through last spring’s election, she would like the council to turn its attention to infrastructure and economic development.
Petty also said that as mayor she would attempt to improve communication between city government and residents. This included attempting to speed up council meetings.
“When we’re here till 1 a.m., so is everyone else,” Petty said. “And that’s a burden on the community.”
Petty had an opportunity to test her drive for greater efficiency earlier than she might have expected: during the public participation section of the meeting, immediately following her swearing-in. Sal Longo, owner of Suzy’s Bar and Grill, spoke first in the section of the meeting reserved for residents to address items not on the agenda. He spoke, as he does the first Tuesday of every month, about his inability to acquire a full liquor license for his business.
Most of the public comments to follow came from residents supporting Longo. Eventually, a question arose as to the related discussions at a prior council meeting.
“That’s what happens when we’re talking about these things at midnight,” Petty said. ER
