Hadley and Stern sworn in

Councilmembers Suzanne Hadley and Hildy Stern are sworn in by Judge Joyce Fahey, who is also a former Manhattan Beach council member and mayor. Photo

Newly elected Councilpersons Suzanne Hadley and Hildy Stern were sworn in Tuesday night, joining Councilperson Nancy Hersman at the dais to become Manhattan Beach’s first female majority City Council.

Both are political newcomers who were each deeply involved as parent volunteers within the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. In order to raise their children, each left behind promising careers two decades ago, Hadley as an Ivy League-educated businesswoman, Stern as a Georgetown Law graduate who became a Department of Justice attorney.

“She and I share much in common,” said Hadley, in remarks given after taking the dais. “Both of us have four children who were educated in this city’s public schools. Both of us have sons serving in the military, my son in the U.S. Army, hers in the U.S. Marines. I look forward very much to serving with you Hildy.”

Hadley thanked her campaign supporters, outgoing councilpersons David Lesser and Amy Howorth (“Hildy and I have big shoes to fill”), and the other five candidates who ran for council.

“As Proverbs 7:17 says, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another,” she said. “My competition helped make me a better, sharper candidate. Thank you.”

She also thanked her husband, former state Assemblyman David Hadley, noting that the adage “man plans, God laughs” aptly applied to the life they’ve shared for 26 years. When they married in 1992, she said, it wasn’t in the plan that they’d move from New York City to Manhattan Beach, where they’d raise four kids, he’d serve in the California Assembly, and she’d be elected to council. “It’s been mostly wonderful,” Hadley said.

Hadley pledged to fulfill her campaign promises, and said she’d specifically move to bolster public safety with more foot patrol and possibly additional Automated License Plate Readers. Hadley also said she’ll soon propose an ordinance to end each City Councilperson’s $475 monthly stipend intended to cover travel and cell phone expenses.

“On March 5, you voted new,” Hadley said. “On March 5, you voted for change. Thank you. I’m ready to get to work. Let’s roll.”

Stern stayed away from any political pronouncements in her remarks, focusing squarely on her sense of gratitude for the opportunity to serve and those who enabled it. Stern thanked her supporters and paid particular tribute to her husband, Jeremy, for his “nudging and prodding and pushing” to run for council. “You were such a rock for me,” she said.

She said that outgoing councilmembers Lesser and Howorth were instrumental in why she now found herself at the council dais.

“Thank you, David, and thank you, Amy, for really being my role models all these years,” Stern said. “You served our community with respect and with intelligent decision making and in collaboration with those that care about it. You lead while walking beside us, and you give us a Manhattan Beach that truly is a better place because of you.”

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