Whalen and Dicterow win reelection in Laguna Beach
With all precincts reporting, incumbents Bob Whalen and Steve Dicterow were poised to win reelection to the Laguna Beach City Council after coming out ahead in a four-candidate race for two seats in Tuesday night’s election.
Whalen, a public finance attorney, garnered the greatest share of support, with 5,244 votes — nearly 33%, according to county registrar results Wednesday afternoon.
Dicterow, an estate planning attorney, held a roughly 2% advantage of 282 votes over challenger Verna Rollinger, a former Laguna Beach city clerk. Judie Mancuso, founder and president of the nonprofit Social Compassion in Legislation, was in fourth place with 2,858 votes, or 17.9%.
Whalen and Dicterow were first elected in 2012.
Dicterow acknowledged that being an incumbent “always has a difference in dynamics,” but said he stuck to a similar campaign strategy as he did in 2012 of going door to door and handing out fliers at the grocery store.
“We have a group of five that work well together, so I don’t see any transition here,” Dicterow said of the new council. “It’s a seamless extension of what we’ve been doing. One thing we’ve heard from people is making sure the council focuses on the needs of residents.”
During several forums this fall, one topic the candidates generally agreed upon was placing residents’ needs first, whether addressing the traffic boon in South Laguna, repairing sidewalks or boosting public safety patrols.
Councilman Robert Zur Schmiede said he was delighted at the prospect of Whalen and Dicterow remaining on the council.
“We work well together and respect each other,” Zur Schmiede said. “We don’t always agree, but we deliberate and try to reach a decision for the benefit of the community.”
In Laguna’s city treasurer race, incumbent Laura Parisi doubled the vote total of challenger Anne McGraw, a bookkeeper, according to unofficial results. City Clerk Lisette Chel-Walker ran unopposed and will retain her post.
Measure LL appeared headed to an easy victory, with 79% of Laguna residents voting yes on raising the tax hotels charge guests from 10% to 12% to help pay for services such as public safety and utility undergrounding.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
