Eastwood’s Inauguration Rained On but Not Out

Not even a nagging off-and-on drizzle could drown the enthusiasm of more than 600 well-wishers who crowded in front of City Hall on Tuesday to watch as actor Clint Eastwood was inaugurated as the 29th mayor of this seaside village.

Eastwood, characteristically, had little to say during the soggy, seven-minute ceremony, which was attended by his mother, Ruth Wood, and sister, Jeanne Bernhardt.

After swearing to uphold the state and federal constitutions, Eastwood thanked Carmel voters for his easy win last week over two-term incumbent Charlotte Townsend. He then presented potted redwood seedlings to the former mayor and to two of her City Council allies, who also were turned out last Tuesday.

The new mayor’s first motion before the council was to adjourn the meeting. New Council member Elinor Laiolo seconded the motion, and it was adopted unanimously.

The ceremony took place under a dirty white nylon canopy--a last-minute idea forced by the weather--at the foot of the steps leading to the quaint City Hall, a converted church.

Crowds began gathering on the blocked-off, block-long section of Monte Verde Street more than two hours before the 4 p.m. inauguration. Some people huddled under a garden of multicolored umbrellas but most resigned themselves to the elements and stood bareheaded and shivering.

The crowd cheered when Eastwood arrived, when he took his oath, when he spoke, when he waved and when he left.