Laguna Beach : Bobbi Minkin Chosen Unanimously as Mayor

Bobbi Minkin, a City Council member since 1982, has been chosen mayor by a unanimous vote of the council. Martha Collison, a council member since last April, was elected mayor pro tem.

The two were named to their positions Tuesday at a council meeting.

Minkin, a Laguna Beach resident since 1973 and mayor pro tem until her election as mayor, will serve for seven months rather than the normal 12. Because Laguna Beach’s voters decided last November to hold council elections in November rather than April, Minkin’s term will be five months shorter than the norm.

Despite her shortened term, Minkin said she will pursue several projects, including increasing the supply of low-income and affordable housing for Laguna Beach’s senior citizens and artists, as well as enactment of an arts in public places policy.

“There is such an immediate need for low-income and affordable housing for senior citizens and artists here. Those two groups, generally speaking, have the least financial resources,” she said. “That’s a very big issue for me.”

The new mayor also supports a citywide policy to bring more art to Laguna Beach and to make the downtown more accessible. She said traffic congestion and limited parking continue to be problems for both residents and visitors.

In addition, she said, the city needs to enact a plan to help encourage the return to the downtown area of shops and businesses which once provided services to local residents. In recent years, she said, some shops have been displaced by businesses that cater to tourists, forcing residents to go elsewhere for basic needs.