Newly reelected City Councilmembers Amy Howorth and David Lesser were sworn in last Tuesday night by City Clerk Liza Tamura.
“Councilmembers Howorth and Lesser, I think your best years are still ahead of you,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mark Burton before Tamura administered the oath of office at the Mar. 17 council meeting.
The swearing in was followed by comments from both councilmembers and then cookies and lemonade in the lobby of the chambers.
Howorth and Lesser, who were first elected to the council in 2011, were reelected on March 3. Howorth received 35 percent of the vote, and Lesser received 43 percent. Candidate Bill Victor came in third with 22 percent of the vote, and write-in candidate Viet Ngo received zero percent.
Both Howorth and Lesser thanked the community for its support and congratulated each other.
Lesser spoke first, addressing Howorth.
“We do not always agree,” he said, referencing a comment she made upon winning the election, “but our friendship and the opportunity to serve together is something I treasure greatly.”
He said that although he was “honored that 74 percent of those who cast ballots cast one for me,” he didn’t want to “rest on our laurels.”
He mentioned crime, city spending, unfunded pensions and the scale of development as issues that arose during the campaign.
When it was her turn to speak, Howorth said that although Lesser received more votes, she felt that she “always represent[s] both the people who voted for [her] and those who didn’t.”
“My job as a councilmember is to take the view from 30,000 feet in the air and make the best decision for all residents — including the ones not in the room,” she said. “I love this town, I care what happens in this town. I hope that 20, 30 years from now, Manhattan Beach is still a wonderful place to live because of the decisions that we made.”
Both Howorth and Lesser got standing ovations from their colleagues on the council and the small audience.
Earlier in the evening, former candidate Ngo said that he thought that the two councilmembers should recuse themselves from adopting the resolution that certified the results of the election, which was on the meeting’s agenda. However, when Mayor Wayne Powell asked City Attorney Quinn Barrow if there was a need for any of the councilmembers to recuse themselves, Quinn said no. Victor, who often attends the council meetings, wasn’t present. ER
