Four candidates for various city positions will add to the electoral mix on Nov. 8.
Environmental and animal rights activist Judie Mancuso says she’s got the chops to take on the two incumbents, council member Bob Whalen and Mayor Steve Dicterow, who have already announced their candidacy for re-election this fall.
Mancuso’s been dealing with legislative bodies for 20 years, which became the impetus to start her Social Compassion in Legislation nonprofit founded in 2003, she said. She informally signaled her plans to run for City Council last week by opening a bank account specifically for campaign funds.
And, for the first time in years, the city treasurer position may see some competition. Anne McGraw announced her intention to run against Laura Parisi, who has been the unopposed city treasurer since 1999.
McGraw moved to Laguna in 1992 as operations manager for Orange National Bank and started a bookkeeping business in 1998, working with 18 local families and businesses, and is the current treasurer for the Woman’s Club.
McGraw said she’s always wanted to run for city treasurer but was raising a daughter, who’s now old enough to drive. “This is a natural extension of what I already do,” she said Wednesday. “I think I could save the city a lot of money. I’ve done a lot of research and a lot of money is being spent and could be saved in the role of the treasurer.”
Parisi, a CPA, announced her candidacy this week as well and pointed to additional qualifications, such as certifications as a municipal treasurer and fixed-income practitioner as well as chairperson of the League of California Cities’ revenue and taxation committee.
Parisi said her management of the city’s investments this year generated $860,000 in income, $200,000 more than anticipated. She says her efforts to refinance assessment-district bonds generated $1.3 million in savings to property owners. By auditing revenue generated from the Business Improvement District and the Transient Occupancy Tax from hotels, she saved the city money in outside consulting fees, Parisi said in statement announcing her candidacy.
Lisette Chel also announced plans to seek her second term as city clerk, a position she was awarded by voters in 2012. The city clerk and city treasurer are the only two elected administrative positions in City Hall.
“I am proud to say that I have been endorsed by all the City Council members,” Chel said in a statement this week.
Chel, a 36-year resident, has worked 33 years for the city, starting as a parking cashier in the police department. She became deputy city clerk in 2008. She earned certification as a municipal clerk from the Institute of Municipal Clerks in 2010 and is currently working toward masters status, she said.
Her intention is to provide a transparent approach to city government, she said. “My door is always open during office hours and I am available by email 24/7,” she said.
In my dealings with our corrupt Laguna Beach government under the BIGOTED Fascist city manager, johnny pietig, I have found Lisette to be the only official who understands what a Public Servant’s obligations to ALL it’s citizenry are; unlike johnny’s fellow BIGOTS and the DOGS he hires. I have never had one on one contact with Parisi; so my HONEST comments do not include her. Except for Dictrow, I have found the City Council to also be in johnny’s sick, perverted image, including our SHYSTER City Attorney, Phillip Kohn and his lapdog Michell Molko.
““My door is always open during office hours and I am available by email 24/7,” she said.”
I know Lisette has always welcomed me into her office( hope that doesn’t get her in trouble with the BIGOT johnny), even when being harassed by the BITCHES Ocampo and I think Cardinal Lenyi who followed me to her office. Is there anything lower( even lower than stealing from said government) who uses the government and local PEONS to pursue their own sick, petty vendettas to honest citizens and try to ruin said citizen’s life? I don’t think so!
The BIGOT Herr johnny has NEVER had a face to face with me; he only writes LIES about me, and has his crooked Police Force treat his LIES as Restraining orders ( quoting the PERVERT Kravitz in court testimony), which our courts decide, and NOT Facist Bigots like little johnny who think they are above the law. Police chief( cough, cough, PUKE!) Laura Farinella is his latest example of using a LIAR in power to persecute those who tell the ugly truth about Herr johnny and his MUTTS in our local Keystone KOPS
Lisette comes from a “Good Political” family, learning valuable lessons from her father, a former member of California’s state government.
As she has told me many times, unlike the coward, FASCIST, little johnny, her door is open to ALL citizens, not just citizens who kiss HERR Johnny derriere, with all dissenting opinions thrown out of city hall. Facism is when “weak” people need a DADDY figure to lead them; even if it off the cliff of ethics and legality.
When I properly call Herr Johnny and lying laura LIARS, why don’t they make me “put up, or SHUT up” about calling them such true words; could it be that they KNOW I have dozens of examples about their pathological lying and unethical, AND Illegal actions towards me regarding my Constitutional rights, which these sick BITCHES PERVERT every opportunity they get? If these COWARDLY BIGOTS think I am lying about them, they should call me out, which I have NO problem doing regarding said BIGOTS, but never get responded to.
If Laguna Beach had a government of Lisettes instead of the BIGOTS
we currently have under Laguna Beach’s OWN Donald Trump,HERR Pietig, Laguna Beach could be the “paradise” it’s delusional citizens think it is. You Can’t have paradise if there isn’t an ethical, Moral government system to govern paradise. And Herr johnny and his acolytes are NOT Moral, nor possess the ETHICS required of REAL Public Servants.
[…] public will then be able to ask the candidates questions. Candidates for city treasurer, Laura Parisi and Anne McGraw, and returning candidate for city clerk, Lisette […]