The new keyword for the Laguna Beach City Council is “collaboration.”
During Tuesday’s festive swearing-in ceremony for the three winners, some version of the word collaboration was said about 47 times – in the first five minutes.
Of course, the reason for this particular word was Peter Blake (although no one said it out loud).
For the last four years, Blake threw a wrench in the machine, breaking the power of sacred cow community groups, breaking the bureaucracy, breaking the B.S.
And to the end, Blake was unapologetic. He was proud of his record, and he would not take anything back.
“I did what I said I was going to do,” he said before the meeting.
Blake’s seat on the dais went to Alex Rounaghi. The other two are Mark Orgill and returning member Sue Kempf.
With friends and family clapping at every opportunity, the ceremony brought a strong sense of closure and beginning, a dichotomy that did not seem contradictory.
In a similar way, Mayor Bob Whalen recognized the council’s change – largely because of the 25-year-old Rounaghi – by hearkening back to President John F. Kennedy, who said his inauguration was a passing of the torch.
“The torch hasn’t been passed but the fuse has been lit,” Whalen said, believing there will be more young challengers in the future.
In the meantime, it’s Rounaghi’s chance to make a mark. It’s probably unfair to tag him as the golden child of Laguna’s future, but he’s also not afraid to try.
“There are a lot of opportunities to move this community forward,” he said. “All of us are standing on the shoulders of giants.”
For now, the honeymoon period begins. It will be interesting to see how the optimism and collaboration holds up after reality sets in.
One simple measure of success might be the end of marathon meetings. Gen Z and their notorious ADD might be onto something: No city meeting should last more than three hours. Now that’s an issue worth collaboration.
