Redondo Beach : Council Ousts Mayor Doerr From Delegate Post

Mayor Barbara Doerr was ousted this week from her position as delegate to the Los Angeles County division of the League of California Cities, a move orchestrated by her chief rival on the City Council, Archie Snow.

The council voted 4 to 1, with Marcia Martin dissenting, to override the mayor’s veto of its decision to appoint Councilman Jack Chapman as delegate to the league.

Doerr, who has served as delegate since 1981, did not comment after the override vote. Earlier in the meeting, however, the mayor launched a bitter verbal assault on Snow, saying the two-term councilman has been an “embarrassment to the community.”

Doerr released a written statement to council members and the press, including minutes from a council meeting in October, 1982, that showed she had voted for a nuclear freeze at a league convention in 1982. Snow had accused Doerr of voting against the freeze, which had been endorsed by the City Council.

“Councilman Snow has recently made some untrue accusations regarding my representation of the City of Redondo Beach as delegate” to the league, she said in the statement. “This is an old argument and an old accusation.”

Last week, when Snow first mentioned the nuclear freeze vote, Doerr said Snow was probably right about her vote. After checking the council minutes from October, 1982, however, she said she remembers that she did follow the council’s directive.

Despite her caustic comments, Doerr called for a truce on the council, telling Snow that “enough is enough” and that they should begin working together. Snow responded by pointing out Doerr’s opposition to two development projects supported by the council, saying, “When you are ready to start, I will help.”

Doerr quickly abandoned her own call for a truce, calling Snow’s tactics “foolish” and accusing the councilman of having a “two-faced attitude.” The mayor pledged to never again respond to Snow’s comments at council meetings. She said she would provide information--in writing--about anything he might say.