Incumbents prevail in all three health district races
Incumbents successfully defended their seats Tuesday in races for three board positions on the Beach Cities Health District.
Board members Michelle Bholat and Noel Chun earned clear victories in their hunt for another four-year term, tallying 19,700 votes and 16,291 votes, respectively, to the 7,560 notched by challenger David Mintz. The race for a truncated two-year term was closer, with incumbent Vish Chatterji edging Andrea Giancoli 14,548 votes to 14,118.
Chatterji was appointed to the board in June 2017 as an interim replacement for Lenore Bloss, who had stepped down, due to health reasons, after winning a seat in November 2016; his win Tuesday enables him to serve out the remainder of Bloss’ term. Chatterji said he was humbled by his victory and called Giancoli “highly qualified” and a “tough challenger.”
“She ran a very strong campaign. It speaks to the level of quality that exists in our district,” he said.
An MBA who left the startup world to pursue yoga and mindfulness coaching, Chatterji hopes to spend the remainder of his term focusing on mental and spiritual well being of Beach Cities residents, whom studies show report above-average stress levels. Giancoli, a Hermosa Beach resident, had raised the issue of Hermosa’s status within the district during the campaign, saying that as the smallest of the three Beach Cities it did not always get the attention that it deserved. Chatterji, a Redondo Beach resident, also said the campaign convinced him that he needed to spend more time in Hermosa, to make sure that the issues of its residents were addressed.
Bholat, the top vote-getter in district elections, was happy with the results, but said it was encouraging that residents cared enough about health district issues to get involved. The next four years will be crucial for the district, as it faces its biggest project ever: potentially converting the former South Bay Hospital site at 514 Prospect Avenue in Redondo into a “healthy living campus” that could include residential units for seniors. Bholat touted efforts to solicit community opinion on the project so far, but said more had to be done to make sure the project fits with resident needs.
“I’d like to see further growth in [engagement]. A lot of people are civically minded and will always be involved. We need to stretch and put ourselves out to areas and at time frames where people can engage,” she said.