by Laura Garber
Mike Detoy was unanimously elected mayor of Hermosa Beach at a special city council meeting Tuesday night, stepping into the role with a call for civility in a community he says has grown increasingly divided by misinformation and anonymous online attacks.
The reorganization meeting, held February 24, in Council Chambers, also elevated Councilmember Michael Keegan to mayor pro tem in a 4-1 vote. Councilmember Ray Jackson cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he would be “submitting a statement for the record” rather than engage in what he called “public theatrics.” Had the council followed tradition, Jackson would have been named mayor pro tem, as the longest-serving member who had not yet held the position in the current rotation cycle. Keegan was elected to Council in 2024, two years after Jackson.
“It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life to serve on this council and rotate into the role of Mayor of Hermosa Beach again,” Detoy said in his inaugural remarks.
He then turned to a subject that has been simmering in the community. “Over the past few years, we have seen an uptick in something different,” he said. “Anonymous online attacks, half-truths, and rhetoric designed not to inform, but to inflame. With AI and other new technologies, even realistic images and videos can be created and shared to mislead or embarrass. That’s not healthy for this community, or any community.”
The public comment period had already put those tensions on display.
Resident Nancy Schwappach argued that Jackson should not be elected mayor pro tem, citing what she described as a “potentially irreconcilable conflict of interest” between his city council seat and his appointment to the California Coastal Commission. She alleged Jackson had effectively threatened to “weaponize” the Commission against colleagues who voted against him on a parking pass issue, and questioned whether he had done enough to advocate for Hermosa’s walk street property owners facing new five-year encroachment deadlines from the Commission.
Another speaker, Jim Rosenberger, raised concerns that a council member had refused to speak with a staff member, saying he worried the matter could reflect poorly on the city in the press.
Resident Sheryl Main pushed back. “We have got to stop with all of this crazy yakking behind people’s backs,” she said. “If you really think that Ray hasn’t done his job, I would suggest that you go out and really actually talk to people.”
Main also accused outgoing Mayor Rob Saemann of having liked AI-manipulated images of a council member on Facebook. Saemann denied it from the dais. “I have never liked anything like that on Facebook,” he said. “Talk about lies and misinformation.”
Detoy addressed the broader dynamic in his remarks without naming anyone directly.
“What people sometimes forget is when you attack someone publicly, especially anonymously, it does not just land on elected officials, it lands on their spouses, on their friends, on their families,” he said. “Disagree with us. Challenge us. Hold us accountable. But also let us collectively refuse to normalize personal attacks as part of local politics.”
He described himself less as a politician than as a neighbor; someone who coaches at Clark Field, runs into people at school pickup, and wants to simply be Mike when he’s out in the community.
“Public service, especially with a young family, is not always easy,” he said. “Politics can feel like a full contact sport, but it’s also a family activity.”
Saemann and Jackson embraced in a hug during the reorganization.
Saemann, who served a 9.6-month term, received certificates of recognition from the offices of Congressman Ted Lieu, State Senator Ben Allen, and LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, as well as a commemorative gavel from the city. “I know that with the leadership of Mayor Detoy and Mayor Pro Tem Keegan, we will start anew,” he said.
The meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m., followed by a reception at Hook & Plow on Pier Avenue. ER
