GOP Club Names New President
Michele Oliver Hall will succeed Amy Kramer as president of Laguna Beach Republicans. Hall will also serve as the county GOP chair for her hometown.
Hall, who attended LBHS and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in conservation and resource studies, worked for the Los Angeles political consultant Wessel Company on GOP races for state assembly and on anti-rent control legislation.
In Laguna, Hall also played a role in community organizing during the closure of the Treasure Island mobile home park and its eventual approval for a hotel development. She went on to raise two children and serve as a volunteer for SchoolPower and the Friendship Shelter.
When asked about the relationship of Republicans and residents, Hall said, “Republicans in our town have always been part of its libertarian and counter-cultural tradition. We are about personal responsibility and personal freedom. We stand for a balanced budget and living within our means at the local, state and federal level.”
In fact, within city limits, there is rough parity in Republican and Democrat voter registration.
Kramer, the outgoing president, thinks Hall is well suited to her new leadership role. “Michele’s ability to understand the city’s political environment and her wealth of political savvy make her a perfect fit for this position,” Kramer said.
Rollinger Holds Reelection Fundraiser
Mayor pro tem Verna Rollinger will hold a fundraiser Sunday, April 22, at the home of Betsy and Dr. Gary Jenkins.
The 4 to 7 p.m. party is $85 per person and includes wine, a light supper and dessert, and tours of the home’s special drought-tolerant gardens, designed by landscape artist Jeff Powers.
Egly Launches Her Campaign
Mayor Jane Egly will launch her re-election campaign with a kick-off party at John Madison’s Madison Square Café, 320 N. Coast Highway, on May 6 from 4 to 6 pm. Admission is $35 and everyone is invited to attend.
In a recent talk to the Laguna Beach Business Club, Egly revealed that though her favorite goals are to enhance the local environment by promoting sustainable living practices and adding to the city’s open space, she believes her first responsibility as an elected official is to keep the city running well.
After 25 years as a trial attorney and 12 years as a law professor, she will retire in June. Egly was first elected in 2004.
Info at 494-9878.
City Council Challenger Draws a Crowd
About 250 people attended a kick-off party last Sunday for Steve Dicterow, who is campaigning to be returned to Laguna
Beach’s City Council.
Dicterow gained the endorsement of incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican congressman who faces re-election in a new district that now includes Laguna Beach.
After an introduction by his 22-year-old daughter, Taryn, Dicterow outlined his goals if elected. To preserve Laguna’s character, Dicterow said local government needs more control over state highways that bisect the town, water self-sufficiency, ensuring police and fire remain city functions and to work towards curbing Coastal Commission jurisdiction.
“I’m going to be outspent. I’ll win by the content of my message,” said Dicterow, who recently established Irvine’s AdvantaClean, a franchise water damage and mold remediation service.
Complaint Over Romney Contribution
The Republican party’s presumed presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, contributed $10,000 to ban gay marriage in California, according to Laguna Beach resident Fred Karger, a gay Republican who is also seeking his party’s presidential nomination.
Last week, Karger filed an ethics complaint with California’s Fair Political Practices Commission against the National Organization for Marriage for omitting Romney’s contribution in its California disclosure reports. Karger obtained filings that detailed donations to NOM as a result of a money-laundering lawsuit in Maine.
