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Incoming Mayor Joe Franklin and outgoing Mayor David Lesser. Photo by Jefferson Graham
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Mayor Joe Franklin’s daughter, Taylor, and son, Jimmy, celebrate the beginning of his mayoral term. Photo by Jefferson Graham
CITY COUNCIL
Lesser passes gavel to Franklin in mayoral rotation
by Mark McDermott
Former councilperson and six-time mayor Steve Napolitano had a joke he never tired of. Every nine months, when each outgoing mayor would pass the gavel to the next councilperson whose turn it was to become mayor, Napolitano would wryly express relief for the accomplished “peaceful transfer of power.”
Napolitano experienced that transition more than anyone else in the city’s history. But last Tuesday, as David Lesser finished up his third tenure as mayor and Joe Franklin began his second, the transfer of power went somewhere beyond peaceful, into something akin to gleeful.
Lesser, who served two terms from 2011 to 2019, reentered the public sphere four years ago with a foremost priority, which was to repair what he saw as a fractured sense of collaboration on the council and within the community following the fraying that occurred during the pandemic years. Though he has a significant list of policy achievements, including an instrumental role in the rebuilding of the public library and a host of forward-leaning local environmental laws, what Lesser has most prided himself on as a local leader is simple collegiality. As he said in 2019, at his final meeting of that eight-year run, local politics is rarely about a single leader.
“Whatever successes I’ve had have been team efforts,” Lesser said. “I mean it; one person can’t just come in, and by fiat say it’s going to be this way or that way. You’ve got to work with your council colleagues, and obtain community input.”
That theme ran through nearly every testimonial offered on his behalf Tuesday night. Councilmember Nina Tarnay, who would be selected later in the evening to serve as the next mayor pro tem, said she has come to admire Lesser’s preparation and steadiness on the dais.
“He is always prepared, always thorough, and always focused on doing what he believes is best for the city of Manhattan Beach,” Tarnay said. “David has also worked hard to ensure that everyone feels heard, that everyone has a seat at the table in a time when it can be easy for divisions to grow. He has consistently approached leadership with collaboration, respect, and a genuine willingness to listen to different perspectives.”
Councilmember Steve Charelian, a self-described “numbers guy,” offered a tally of Lesser’s service. During his three terms on council, Lesser has attended over 250 city council meetings, more than 50 of those as mayor. And dating back to his time on the Planning Commission in the early aughts, Lesser has never missed a meeting.
“You have a passion to really listen to our community, even with the toughest topics,” Charelian said. “Although council doesn’t vote five-zero all the time, you always find the most diplomatic way to listen to all council members and sum up what we are trying to really say.”
Councilmember Amy Howorth, who has served three terms on the council alongside Lesser, called herself his “work wife.” In all that time, she said, Lesser has demonstrated an unparalleled unflappability.
“He keeps his cool, and I’m here to tell you, as his work wife, I know it’s not easy,” Howorth said. “But you keep your cool because you are in service to the residents. That’s what this is about for you, building this team of colleagues, making sure our voices are heard. Because you know that maybe Joe’s voice represents something different from Steve’s voice, represents someone different from my voice. You understand that’s important, and it means a lot.”
The chamber was full of former mayors, including Russ Lesser, Bob Holmes, Steve Napolitano, Mitch Ward, Nancy Hersman, Wayne Powell, and Richard Montgomery. Powell, also president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults, was first to the podium.
“I just came down because I want to commend Mayor Lesser on an exemplary term as mayor,” Powell said. “You did the residents well in serving them well.”
Brian Goldsmith, a candidate for California State Senate, said meeting Lesser had been one of the unexpected benefits of his campaign.
“David Lesser is one of the most impressive mayors, public servants that I’ve come across,” Goldsmith said. “Getting to know you has been a wonderful education for me on the variety of issues that confront our communities, from public safety to land use, housing, the cost of living, environmental protection, and clearly the residents of Manhattan Beach agree, because they keep electing you. As they should.”
When Lesser took the microphone for his outgoing remarks as mayor, he ticked through a list of what he saw as the council’s signal accomplishments during his term: code reforms addressing e-bike safety, safety measures approved for Sepulveda Boulevard following a string of pedestrian fatalities, council direction to proceed with the long-awaited Senior & Scout Community Center, a proactive response to the Chevron El Segundo refinery fire last October, and continued environmental stewardship through the city’s tree planting partnership with Grades of Green.
But it was the way the council had conducted its work that he wanted to emphasize.
“I have sought, as you’ve heard, to facilitate council discussions through consensus building, through civil conversations, in direct opposition to the divisiveness and corrosiveness in the political dialog that surrounds us,” Lesser said. “Each of us is willing to stand up and fight for what we believe in, but we start with listening. We start with a discussion. We try to find a consensus, then we vote, and we move on. It’s what government should be.”
The motion to appoint Franklin as the next mayor passed 5-0.
Franklin is in the second year of his second term, after first winning an historically close election in 2020, by 88 votes. Like Lesser, his primary impetus is not so much a defined policy objective, though he’s left an imprint on e-bike safety education. On Tuesday he vowed to help lead the battle against state housing laws that he believes threaten the fabric of the community. What most animates Franklin is less a set of laws, however, than an almost overflowing sense of love for his adopted hometown. As he was sworn back in as mayor, it was clear that love is very much returned.
An outpouring on behalf of the incoming mayor began with the surprise appearance of his son Jimmy, who lives in North Carolina. The Franklin family had not all been in one place for five years.
“I flew out here yesterday and worked all day in San Diego, and drove down here for this, trying to surprise him,” Jimmy Franklin said.
He spoke of growing up watching his father work, of carrying that ethic into the Marine Corps and into his current job and family life.
“What I thought was normal has proven to be exceptional in all that I do, and that is because of seeing him busting his butt to get the job done and still be able to be there for his family,” Jimmy Franklin said. “His unwavering dedication to serving this community, from literally being Stopper, the stop sign from the Do Stop Don’t Speed campaign from when I was a kid, to even now serving at the highest capacity for the city he has called home for almost four decades now, is incredible, and something to admire.”
His sister, Taylor Franklin, followed. She offered her dad advice — to keep connecting with people. “That’s how you won your first election, and it’s still your greatest strength,” she said. “You take the time to remember everybody’s name, which still completely baffles me, because I can’t remember what I had for lunch today. Second, keep listening. You have this way of making people feel heard and reminding them that what they have to say matters.”
“Remember why you started. It was never about the title, it was about making Manhattan Beach the best place it can be for the community you genuinely love,” she said. “You introduce yourself as mayor to visitors every chance you get, and maybe to some people that sounds boastful, but to me it just shows how much you genuinely love the city and how excited you are to make someone’s trip a little more memorable.”
Resident Lucia La Rosa Ames thanked Franklin for his work alongside MB Safe, a community group focused on homelessness and public safety.
“You have never treated homelessness like just another issue on the list,” she said. “It’s in your heart to take care of our homeless residents. You have treated [them] with deserving care and dignity.”
Resident Tiffany Barbara said she had first met Franklin in 2020, during what she called “the dark days of Covid,” when she had gone to the Franklins’ home to pick up an MBPD support sign.
“He and his beautiful wife came out offering me wine. We made fast friends,” Barbara said. “It’s been a very challenging six years, and I want to thank all of you guys for thriving during those challenging six years.”
Tarnay, in remarks following her own selection as mayor pro tem, said she has been studying Franklin in preparation for her own eventual turn in the chair.
“It’s been a marvel watching Joe’s bottomless energy,” Tarnay said. “When most folks retire, they tend to slow down, travel, spend more time with grandkids, and maybe play a round of golf or two. But not Joe. Joe has somehow managed to turn community involvement into a full-time job. He’s doing everything everywhere all at once. Michelle Yeoh has nothing on Joe.”
She described running into Franklin at the Farmers Market, at ribbon cuttings, at community events, at Shellbacks and Uncle Bill’s.
“He’s deep in conversation with residents about homelessness, e-bikes, Nathan Hochman, traffic circulation, or art installations,” she said. “There’s something genuinely admirable about that level of commitment, because underneath the visibility and the conversations is someone who deeply cares about the city and loves his job representing it.”
When Franklin finally took the gavel, he began by acknowledging his wife.
“Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to join in the time-honored tradition of our city’s mayoral [rotation]. Or, as my wife, Nancy, says, ‘Dear God, again,'” Franklin said.
He spoke of two touchstones in the council chambers — the photo wall of past councils behind the audience, and the speaker’s podium directly in front of the dais.
“Council members should not judge the merits of words or who speaks them,” Franklin said. “From these discussions, our duty is to allow them to be spoken and understand why they are being said. From these discussions, we craft ordinances, rules, and make decisions on infrastructure, buildings, budget, our public safety, and more, guided by our residents and businesses, the taxpayers. Even if we don’t always agree, a resident’s passion and perspective should never be misconstrued or characterized as divisive.”
Franklin laid out a fiscal posture for his year as mayor that included a series of transparency sessions on city operations, and what he called a “no net new positions” approach to staffing.
“Fiscal stewardship means approaching this challenging budget year with discipline, accountability, and a commitment to protecting the long-term fiscal health of our city,” he said. “We will pursue strategic budget reductions that preserve essential services while ensuring we live within our means.”
Then, at the end of his speech, Franklin took a sharper turn. In six years on council, he said, he had never used the words “existential threat.” But he was using them now.
“Sacramento zoning overreach, the overt power grab of our local zoning control with one size fits all building density mandates, is an existential threat to our way of life and the safety of our residents,” Franklin said. “It’s heartbreaking to see huge swaths of our community threatened by oversized, out-of-character developments with outsized density, too little onsite parking, and dangerous proximity to unsafe streets.”
He said state assembly and senate representatives have been unable to provide meaningful help, despite what he called “some gallant efforts.” The path forward, he argued, would have to come from outside the legislature.
“A citizens initiative is needed to combat this threat to our local control,” Franklin said, pointing to Our Neighborhood Voices, a statewide effort to put a measure on the 2028 ballot returning zoning control to cities. He also encouraged residents to sign on to Stop the Rise, a local grassroots group that he said has already drawn more than 3,000 residents.
Franklin closed by quoting from the recent memorial service for longtime Manhattan Beach resident (and Hyperion Outfall Serenaders bandleader) Bob White, at which White’s son reflected on his parents’ contributions to the city.
“These past generations gave us the gift of Manhattan Beach,” Franklin said, quoting from the eulogy. “They gave us paradise. It’s up to us to keep it that way.” ER
