The dais looked practically bare at the July 5 meeting of the Redondo Beach City Council as the body set parameters for the replacement of resigned District 1 councilman Jeff Ginsburg. They were slightly hamstrung in their efforts, as District 2 councilman Bill Brand was away on a long-scheduled vacation.
“This is really a rookie thing for us,” said Mayor Steve Aspel. “We haven’t done this before.”
He didn’t just mean the current Council. According to City Attorney Michael Webb, the Council has not needed to fill the vacancy of an elected official by appointment in the last 25 years. Other recent vacancies came with more than two years remaining in the official’s term and were filled by special elections.
Ginsburg’s resignation, effective June 30, occurred while he had fewer than two years remaining in his term, which began in 2013. As a result, instead of a special election,  the Council must fill the vacancy by appointing a replacement within 30 days. Should they fail to do so, the mayor would be given 15 days to make the appointment.
Aspel doesn’t want that on his head.
“Even though I like being mayor, I don’t want to be the one to appoint someone, solely,” he said. “A vote of the council is the second-best thing to having the vote of the people.”
Webb laid out two scenarios for the council on July 5: they could choose to name a replacement then and there; or they could set timelines for going forward. As part of that second option, Webb provided an application form based on one used by the City of Torrance to fill appointments for openings on their Council.
“There’s no right or wrong, but I think it’s a better process to have applications,” Webb said. “The public will know who’s applying, who’s interested, willing and able [for the position].”
The criteria for application are the same as if someone were running for the position in an election. The candidate must be registered voter at an address within the district they seek to represent, and must have lived within the district for at least 30 days prior to their appointment.
District 1 resident Joan Irvine told the council she believes the application should be more similar to one a business would use in hiring an executive-level employee.
“One would ask about relevant experience,” she said. “I’ve heard people say that anyone who has been involved with the Chamber, the City or any other group should not be appointed…but why would we not want someone who has been involved?”
“You don’t have to have a lot of experience to get elected; we prove that,” Aspel said. “It’s a beautiful part of democracy…and it’s best to not have a big political background, I think.”
Resident Laura Zahn took the opportunity to cast aspersions on Ginsburg’s resignation, calling it a “resignation of convenience.” She noted that he had recused himself from voting on the CenterCal waterfront.
“Mr. Ginsburg has resigned his seat, but only after enough of his term has been served so that his seat is not open for a vote of the people, but only by appointment,” she said. “The mayor says that he doesn’t necessarily want someone who is divisive — which means someone who doesn’t disagree with him.”
Aspel reiterating that Ginsburg left his seat to attend to personal family matters, and that the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission changed its guidelines for what might represent a potential conflict of interest.
The council ultimately voted to adopt the Torrance application for Redondo Beach. The application is on the city’s website. The submission deadline is July 13, at 5:30 p.m., The Council will meet to make an appointment on July 19, allowing for the possibility of returning on July 26 should they be unable to come to a decision that night.
Several District 1 residents, including stated candidate for appointment Rolf Strutzenberg, expressed reservations about the process.
“We have input, and we have a voice, but we’ll ultimately be the same as if we lived in any other district,” Strutzenberg said. “It’s a tough situation, but I think they’ll do a balanced job.” ER
