Christopher Quilter and Billy Fried’s columns published together in the LB Indy reflect a disparity, a spectrum of core values that bears noting.
Quilter is akin to what our society wisely values as a “thought leader.” Having grown up here, he knows, he expresses clearly and states his justified, credible case for what needs to be done in the screening process. He writes with authority, with gravitas and local governance expertise, and yes, his family populated and centered here, veritable, venerated historical Laguna figures. He’s wise in the ways of Southern California beach vibes and tribes. His approach to a city manager candidate is rationally transformative.
Fried? Not so much. A whole lot of not so much. He’s definitely a notch or 2 down from a thought leader, maybe an “influencer,” self-righteous, proclaiming himself a visionary needle mover. His shrouded main interest seems focused on his business, so unlike Quilter, he’s actually transactional: public relations focused on how to get more people to procure the services of his tourist, commerce-related activities. He just got back from a five-week vacation, probably has his next one planned, is always going somewhere and usually not in the USA. A dream home being built (or maybe already done) in Mexico, junkets to Europe, the Far East, other exotic places. He’s not a full-time resident by any definition.
Quilter seems inspirational, to be encouraging us to select a city manager who’ll acknowledge and help us remain eclectically unique, Southern California’s Laguna. I’m sure he knows what all we natives do: You never had to write or say “Beach,” everyone knew that you need only utter “Laguna” to know what’s being mentioned.
Fried, on the other hand, wants us to be a Mediterranean city. Any of them. So just as Fried admits that he enjoys a lot of time being somewhere else, he’s constantly hectoring us to become that somewhere else. Per usual, both in his writing and his travels, he’s physically and literally all over the map in his appraisal. This is a person with enough wealth to travel the world, who obviously isn’t happy living year-round in this classic jewel by the sea. Fried exhibits not firm but ephemeral, untrustworthy commitment, and more importantly, nary a grain of true leadership.
Roger E. Bütow, Laguna Beach
