by Jefferson Graham
After serving 35 years for the city of Manhattan Beach, most recently as its finance director, Steve Charelian only lasted a few weeks away from City Hall when he stepped down in July.
“This isn’t goodbye,” he said in his last appearance before the Council.
One month later, Charelian filed papers to run for one of three open spots on the City Council. He says he wants to be a voice of stability after Manhattan Beach loses two veteran council members — Richard Montgomery and Steve Napolitano. City manager Bruce Moe retired earlier this year.
“It’s a challenging time at City Hall,” he says. “There’s a lot of knowledge walking out the door. I want to make sure we continue with fiscal responsibility.”
Charelian, 55, started a family late in life. He and his wife have two young kids, Knox and Chase. He serves AYSO and Little League coaches.
Charelian identifies three key issues in the council race: hiring more police officers, seeing e-bike infractions are enforced and finding funding for infrastructure projects.
“People want to see their streets repaired, feel safe and see e-bike infractions enforced,” he says. “They want to feel safe and make sure our public safety stays local.”
As the money guy in City Hall, the “fiscal overseer,” his job was to keep “taxpayers money safe,” he says. Charelian supports bond measures to raise money for the city that would be made possible by the additional sales tax.
On the Council, he would want “to find incentives” to get open police positions filled. “We need to look at our internal hiring practices.”
Charelian has received the endorsement of current Councilman member Joe Franklin, who is running for re-election. ER
