Letters: Council elections, Neighborhood zoning
By Kevin Cody
Council consequences if there’s a fire
Dear ER:
Hermosa voters have received a political mailer from the Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014, urging us to elect Ray Jackson and Eric Horne — and only Jackson and Horne — to the City Council.
Hermosa Beach may soon negotiate a fire-services contract worth up to $120 million.
Los Angeles County Fire is our current provider, but Hermosa has also asked Redondo Beach to explore providing our fire and emergency services.
That competition could be enormously valuable to Hermosa taxpayers.
But what happens if Redondo concludes the decision is politically predetermined? Why prepare a competitive bid if the union representing employees of the current provider is already spending money to elect two of the councilmembers who may choose the winner?
If Redondo walks away, Hermosa loses competition and negotiating leverage. Competition gives Hermosa the ability to push for lower costs and better service. Without it, taxpayers risk paying more while receiving less.
With Hermosa already facing a $3.2 million structural deficit, we cannot afford to surrender negotiating leverage on a contract that could be worth $120 million. The cost and level of service we negotiate will have consequences for years.
Each voter can decide what this endorsement means but political action committees do not exist simply to congratulate candidates they like. They exist to advance the interests of the organizations they represent. Local 1014 itself says its political activity is intended to protect firefighter interests involving wages, pensions, staffing and working conditions.
There is nothing wrong with firefighters fighting for their members.
The question is who will be fighting for Hermosa Beach taxpayers when negotiations begin? With Jackson and Horne accepting an endorsement from a key party in our upcoming negotiations, what are the chances we can predict who they favor?
Hermosa deserves an open, competitive evaluation of every qualified proposal based solely on safety, service and value to Hermosa, not whether the party will spend money to elect a solid vote for their bid.
Hermosa cannot afford divided loyalties or votes that appear to have been secured before competing proposals are even on the table.
The firefighters’ union knows whose interests it represents.
When Hermosa voters enter the voting booth this November, they should wonder whose interests Eric Horne and Raymond Jackson represent.
Raymond Dussaul
Hermosa Beach
There goes the neighborhood
Dear ER:
As Manhattan Beach prepares for apartments to rise along Sepulveda, you won’t see just one or two buildings. With beach-access high rents and the cost efficiencies of podium construction, you will see every property in the Residential Overlay District (ROD) eventually succumb to the rewards of a large apartment building. Learn, vote, and take action if you want change; otherwise accept the inevitable and don’t live downstream of the sewage flow.
Joe Galins
Manhattan Beach
Too much transparency
Dear ER:
Manhattan Beach has long prided itself on being a close-knit, welcoming community where neighbors know each other and visitors come to enjoy our unique beach-town charm. All of us who have run for city council used to pledge we would “protect the small-town atmosphere.” Our small-town atmosphere is being blatantly threatened right now by Flock (automated license plate readers or ALPR)) cameras. We use Motorola Solutions, a Flock-style ALPR technology to surveil us. They even take pictures of bumper stickers. God forbid someone doesn’t like our beach humor stickers.
The expanding network of ALPRs threatens to fundamentally alter the character of our city, turning our quiet coastal home into a zone of constant, automated surveillance. While public safety is a priority we all share, blanket surveillance is a heavy-handed approach that chips away at our fundamental right to privacy. These systems quietly track, log, and store the movements of thousands of law-abiding residents and visitors every single day, treating every driver as a suspect under the guise of security. This level of intrusion feels entirely out of place in a town that values freedom, individuality, and a relaxed, small-town atmosphere. I remember when reminding the public to close garages when they were not in use was the biggest deterrent of crimes like theft.
True public safety comes from community trust, neighborhood vigilance (neighborhood watch individuals), and an active police presence — not from a network of cameras constantly scanning our streets. We must ask ourselves if we want Manhattan Beach to feel like a high-tech fortress or the open, vibrant community we all fell in love with. I urge the City Council to halt further expansion of these surveillance networks and prioritize policies that protect both our safety and our civil liberties. Let’s keep Manhattan Beach a small-town atmosphere community for as long as we can and not a surveillance state.
What’s next? Do we implant Apple air tags in our necks? Even conservative governments in states like Oklahoma and Texas have already begun to restrict or eliminate this ALPR technology that is rich with abuse. Manhattan Beach California should too.
Mitch Ward
Former Mayor
Manhattan Beach
Let sunshine policy in
Dear ER:
In the case Tiffany Lopez v. City of Manhattan Beach, the plaintiff alleged that a Manhattan Beach Police Officer “pulled her [the plaintiff] out of the Uber vehicle and slammed her face down on a concrete sidewalk, as if she was a rag doll,” causing significant injuries. The City settled this case for $1 million. I never read about this historically high settlement. Here’s why.
The State’s Open Meeting Law and the City’s Sunshine Policy require all contracts, including settlement agreements, be approved in open session. However, the City can conduct a closed session to give bargaining instructions for a settlement agreement prior to approving the settlement in Open Session. The Mayor sets the agenda and scheduling of the items to be heard.
In the Lopez case, Mayor Amy Howorth scheduled a closed session for February 18, 2025. The “Meeting Minutes – Final” stated that the Council “…gave direction to special counsel.” The settlement agreement was signed by all parties on March 3, 2005.
Mayor Howorth never scheduled the Lopeze settlement agreement for approval in open session. That’s why we never read about it.
Mark Burton
Manhattan Beach
Small town support
Dear ER:
It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of election season. We debate budgets, infrastructure and how Hermosa should grow. But sometimes life reminds us of what really matters.
Our community is rallying around Greg McNally and his family as he recovers from a devastating case of West Nile virus.
Greg has given so much to Hermosa Beach, as a Planning Commissioner, president of the Hermosa Beach Museum and businessman who has always been willing to serve his community. To see someone so active and involved suddenly facing such a difficult road is heartbreaking.
But what has happened since is also a reminder of why Hermosa is such a special place.
Friends and neighbors have donated to his GoFundMe, prepared meals, sent meal gift cards and found countless ways to let Greg, his wife Jennifer and daughter Paige know they are not going through this alone.
This past Sunday, about 100 people gathered outside the McNally home to show Greg and his family how much this community stands behind them.
That is the Hermosa Beach I know and love. I’ve lived here since I was seven years old, and I’ve seen this community come together again and again. When one of our own is hurting, people show up. They ask, “What can I do?” And then they do it. That sense of community is why I care so deeply about Hermosa and why I decided to run for City Council. I want to help protect not just the place we live, but the sense of community that makes it home.
For now, though, this is about Greg. And knowing Greg, I have a feeling it won’t be long before I run into him in the produce aisle at Vons. We’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.
Elka Worner
Hermosa Beach
Former mayor’s support
Dear ER:
Maggie Bove LaMonica is the best qualified, most experienced and best educated candidate for the Hermosa Beach City Council, maybe ever. She was born and raised in Hermosa, has been an exemplary member of our school board for many years, a wonderful mother and a lawyer to boot. If you want a balanced, thoughtful voice of reason representing you she has earned your vote and support
Chuck Sheldon
Former mayor
Hermosa Beach
Get along, move on
I served on the Hermosa Beach City Council in the 1980s and I’ve seen a lot of changes in our city since then. One thing about local government hasn’t changed: you need 3 votes, and have to be able to work with your colleagues to get things done. That’s one reason I’m supporting Maggie Bove LaMonica andEric Horne for Hermosa Beach City Council.
Maggie Bove LaMonica is the best qualified, most experienced and best educated candidate for the Hermosa Beach City Council, maybe ever. She was born and raised in Hermosa, has been an exemplary member of our school board for many years, a wonderful mother and a lawyer to boot. If you want a balanced, thoughtful voice of reason representing you she has earned your vote and support.
I’m similarly impressed by Eric Horne because of his grasp of the challenges facing Hermosa, particularly our budget and aging infrastructure. He approaches those issues pragmatically and with a willingness to listen. He is young, but has a Harvard MBA, was born in Hermosa and has built an impressive record of public service. More importantly, I believe he’ll bring a collaborative, problem-solving spirit to the Council.
It’s time for a new generation to help guide this remarkable beach city responsibly into the future.
Chuck Sheldon
Former Mayor
Hermosa Beach
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