Redondo Beach Councilman Jeff Ginsburg announced his resignation at the end of a meeting of the Redondo Beach City Council on June 28, citing family reasons.
“I have always considered family as the highest priority, and everything else secondary,” Ginsburg said, reading from a prepared statement. “As a result, I now realize it is impossible for me to do the job that I feel is necessary for the position.”
His resignation, he announced, is effective June 30.
“This freaks me out,” Mayor Steve Aspel said, though he admitted he was privy to the announcement beforehand. “The vast majority of people in District 1 love you like you’re their uncle, their brother, everything.”
The council, as a whole, was shocked. “That’s it? This is it?” District 5 councilwoman Laura Emdee asked Ginsburg. “You really set the bar…you are an example of how a responsive councilman should be.”
After the meeting, Ginsburg elaborated that his father-in-law’s health has declined. The tipping point came two weeks ago, at a special meeting to decide the fate of the Legado Redondo project. His wife, Melissa, had flown to her father’s home in Texas. But due to the meeting’s importance, Ginsburg was forced to remain in California. Not being there to support his wife in her time of need crushed him.
“I realized that it’s going to get tougher before it gets easier, and I didn’t want to be in a situation where I wasn’t showing up at meetings, which I knew was going to be the case if I didn’t do something,” Ginsburg said after the meeting.
Elected in 2013, Ginsburg succeeded Aspel in the District 1 seat, and quickly made himself accessible to any member of the community that needed the city’s help, no matter what street they lived on or district they lived in.
The owner of a property management company, Ginsburg moved his business to Riviera Village in 2003, and soon after joined the Riviera Village Business Improvement District. He moved from his home in Rancho Palos Verdes in 2007 to Redondo, calling it “the best decision he ever made.” Prior to his election, he also served on the city’s Public Works Commission.
As Ginsburg has fewer than two years remaining in his term, according to the City Charter, the council has 30 days from June 30 to select an appointee to fill the vacancy. The Mayor would not be able to veto a selection, according to the charter, but given the possibility of a 2-2 tie, would cast the deciding vote.
Should the council fail to agree to an appointment, the charter states that the Mayor would then be given 15 days to fill the vacancy.
The appointee would be in place as an interim council member until a successor is chosen in next March’s regular municipal elections.
An agenda item has been set for the Council to determine a process for naming Ginsburg’s successor at its next meeting on July 5, though in the interim Aspel recommended that anyone interested in the position contact him or a member of the City Council.
Though Ginsburg said that he will continue to be around, particularly in Riviera Village where he is a near-constant presence, in closing he acknowledged all the farewells given to him by staff and council.
“I’m going to miss all of you, too,” the councilman said.
