On Local Government: I liked Les Guthrie
King Harbor lessee holder Les Guthrie walked the talk. I liked Les Guthrie. That is not a phrase you would necessarily find emanating from the lips of elected or appointed officials in Redondo Beach. You might get a statement of respect, but not one of “liking.” The reason I liked him was not because we agreed on some things, such as the limited cranial capacity of certain city officials. I liked him because true entrepreneurs, people who have a certain business gene that generates “creation” rather than merely a strong competitive position, are rare. No doubt, Les was a curmudgeon, although I only met him after I joined the Redondo Beach City Council in 1993. By that time, the bad blood between him and the City regarding his King Harbor leasehold had gotten to the point where most of the discussions that were occurring were through lawyers. Considering the adversaries he was dealing with, I don’t blame him. Certain fools he had to face over the bargaining table would have made anyone lose any semblance of hope. Using a file coding system that would have defied the code breakers who helped win World War II, Les could provide any scrap of documentation ever created in his dealings…
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