When 37-year-old Nanette Barragan bought a house in Hermosa Beach five years ago, she felt like she had fulfilled the American dream.
“My parents were immigrants and blue collar workers and instilled in me a strong work ethic,” Barragan said. “It’s with that work ethic that I put myself through college, and which is why I’m living here and running for council.”
Barragan, who grew up in Torrance, thought that Hermosa Beach was the perfect city to live in.
“It’s a small beach community, it’s the kind of place where you feel like you can walk down the street and feel safe. I regularly take walks on the green belt, and I moved here because of the fact that I feel safe,” said Barragan. “It’s a small-town feel far away from downtown where I work three days a week, and you feel like you’re on vacation. It’s a place where you know your neighbor and the police officers wave to you.”
Clean water, air and good schools are important to Barragan, and are part of the reason she is running for one of three open city council positions. However, rising crime around the city, specifically in the PierPlaza area, worries her.
“I talk to residents and they want a more family-friendly environment in the downtown,” said Barragan. “They want to take their kids to the downtown area – but there seems to be a resounding concern with alcohol-related issues down on PierPlaza.”
Barragan currently works as a business advocate and counselor at a Los Angeles law firm where she specializes in employment law. She believes her professional experience will help her make a difference in Hermosa Beach.
“I want to bring in and retain quality businesses that fit our beach community here,” said Barragan.
Something that worries Barragan is the amount of fiscal mismanagement she thinks the city has made in the past years.
“I’ve been pouring over expenditure reports and the city has spent over $80,000 on a publicist,” said Barragan. “That’s money we could be using to repave our streets or go to the sewage system that needs to be replaced… they just spent over $100,000 on community dialogue — why can’t we have old fashioned town hall meetings that don’t cost us anything? Our entire city council has voted and approved this… This fiscal mismanagement is going towards money that could go towards things we need.”
Nannette served in WashingtonD.C. as a facilitator between the public and the president in the White House Public Liaison office. She also earned an externship with Justice Carlos Moreno in the California Supreme Court. While earning her law degree, Barragan became an executive director of a charity foundation, working with nonprofits like Heal the Bay and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“I have a record of working with environmental organizations which will be critical here with the upcoming issues with oil,” said Barragan.
Barragan said that she originally kept an open mind about the possibility of drilling oil in Hermosa Beach.
“It’s pretty clear to me that it’s not something that would be in the interest of our community here,” Barragan said. “Unfortunately many of the candidates are not taking a position. It’s a leadership issue – they should at least be saying how they feel.”
Barragan said that she’s, “unequivocally opposed to it.”
During her research into the possibility of drilling in Hermosa Beach, Barragan visited Huntington Beach, a city currently in the process of a similar oil drilling project.
“The unknown is always a risk,” said Barragan, noting the 2010 oil spill in Huntington Beach. She’s worried about the possibility of such an accident in Hermosa Beach.
She believes that her experience of being a negotiator and facilitator will help her negotiate the upcoming issues about oil.
“I bring a new perspective,” said Barragan. “And it’s what I’m trained to do. I’ve read EIR [Environmental Impact Report] and understand the complexities of them. I’ve had experience in public policy areas, which is a lot of what our council decides upon, and I’m also willing to stand up for something that I believe in and I’m not worried about the political fallout.”
She added that residents will always know where she’s stands on issues, even if they don’t agree with her.
“Hermosa Beach is my home and my future, and I want to give back to the community,” said Barragan. “I also want to be at the table when the important issues come back before our council.”
