Voting in a local election sometimes comes down to this simple question: Do I want the candidate at my dinner party?
Laguna Beach throws a lot of dinner parties, so it’s not a completely irrelevant question.
Plus, because Laguna is a small town there’s usually only three degrees of separation between you and the candidate. In other words, you’re probably Facebook friends and don’t know it.
All of this is a longwinded way of saying that the staff of Under Laguna did a poll at our last dinner party and here’s who we like for City Council:
• Sue Kempf
• Alex Rounaghi
• Peter Blake
And here’s why.
Kempf is simply a rockstar. We have loved her since she was on the Planning Commission and then later when she ran for City Council in 2018. You may not know this, but we owe Kempf’s arrival in Laguna to her grandmother’s tan.
Kempf was just a kid in Fort Wayne, Ind. when she first started dreaming of California.
“My grandparents went to California a lot when I was young,” Kempf said. “My grandmother would come back and always tell me how wonderful it was. She always came back with a beautiful tan, so I always wanted to go to California.”
Blame her Midwest roots but Kempf is strong, smart and fair-minded. She definitely gets some scalloped potatoes and creamed corn at our dinner party.
Rounaghi is a kid, we know, but he’s like the Young Sheldon of politics – only without the annoying know-it-all answers.
He does his homework but will admit when he needs more information. Data-driven, thoughtful and practical, we like him. We’ve liked him at every debate where he often outshines his (much) older competition.
Laguna needs new blood – desperately – but a vote for Rounaghi is not a reverse act of ageism. He’s earned this seat with his work on the Housing and Human Services Committee, along with a day job in Second District Supervisor Katrina Foley’s office.
Rounaghi is going places, and it continues with a seat on the council – and a big boy chair at our dinner party. Cheers, Rounaghi.
Lastly, good ol’ Blake, the colorful uncle who likes to swear at the dinner table. The thing to remember about Blake is he’s done exactly what he said he would do.
In 2018, he told the Daily Pilot why he was running and his “scorched-earth strategy.”
Blake wanted to overhaul an anemic city leadership that he believes causes more problems than it solves.
“All of my friends are horrified when I start talking about the issues,” he said. “This is not an intellectual endeavor by any means. It’s really visceral. I can’t [fricking] take it anymore. I’m sick of it.”
Blake was frustrated over a long list of perceived missteps, failures and weak hearts within the city’s echelon of power. He was tired of heavy-handed bureaucracy, hypocrisy, acquiescence, unfair influence, cronyism and puritanical fringe groups.
Blake’s list is deep and wide and so is his passion. We’re happy to hear him talk well into the after-party.
That’s it for the dinner invitations.
The other candidates did not make the list for various reasons:
Louis Weil: Seems like he has good intentions but perhaps could use a stint on the Planning Commission.
Mark Orgill: We wanted to like Orgill but honestly, he doesn’t present very well. If he could crisp up his answers and get a clearer agenda, maybe he would earn a seat at the table.
Ruben Flores: It’s hard to get over the Truly can at the first debate. Seriously, who brings alcohol to the council chambers? Plus, Flores has too much speckled history.
Jerome Pudwill: Wow … OK, we will be nice and just say “no comment.”
If this dinner party list is not to your liking, well, that’s fine. There will be many other parties, trust us. It’s Laguna Beach.
