Trent Larson recently reached out to the Sierra Club. He was seeking an endorsement in the Hermosa Beach City Council race in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
He knew it was a long shot, and he ultimately did not get the nod. But the gesture is one made by a man convinced that people with different opinions can come together and get things done. The current council, Larson said, seems not to share this view.
“It’s still a tire fire,” he said. “There is a legacy of distrust, and they don’t seem to like each other.”
Larson’s involvement in local government began with books. Working as an executive at Office Depot and raising a family kept him busy. But after turning 50, Larson felt a need to educate himself about the world. He read voraciously, consuming the works of Ayn Rand.
“I read every one of her books,” Larson said. “The walls came crashing down inside my head.”
With the debate over Measure O, which would have permitted oil extraction in Hermosa, Larson felt the need to become more involved.
Larson came out in support of Measure O, a stance that continues to court controversy after the measure was rejected by more than three-fourths of voters in March. After being questioned about it in the first city council debate, Larson insisted that he heard the voters loud and clear, and considered the issue settled.
What remains unsolved, Larson said, is the harsh political environment the measure created.
“It got to the point where you couldn’t even talk about it,” Larson said. “We’re not talking, we’re just yelling.”
Larson insists his experience in business has prepared him to get along with whomever is ultimately on the council.
“I’ve never been an idealogue,” Larson said. “In my business, I can’t afford not to get along with everybody.”
Those who support Larson agree that pushing the body toward compromise would be one of his strengths.
“I think that’s one of the things he could bring to the council; he’s got the skills,” said Joe Verbrugge, a longtime neighbor of Larson. “He’s a salesperson, and he knows how to negotiate.”
If elected, Larson said he would streamline council meetings by urging fellow members to save the “knock-down, drag out” moments for closed sessions, and would push the items likely to generate  to the head of the agenda.
“The few people in the audience who are there at the end of Tuesday night are certainly not representative,” Larson said of the lengthy meetings. “Elected leaders need to have a spine.”ER
