Westlake’s Mayor Won’t Run Again
Westlake Village Mayor John McDonough, who has served on the City Council since the city’s incorporation six years ago, has announced that he will not seek re-election.
McDonough, 57, a plumbing contractor who helped lead Westlake Village’s campaign for cityhood, made the surprise announcement Wednesday at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
Reading from a prepared statement, McDonough said he will remain active in city affairs but wants to pursue other interests and feels the city is being capably led.
In a telephone interview, McDonough said, “You know you have a proprietary interest, almost a parental interest that your baby is comfortable, that you can leave without damage. The city’s in good shape.”
His seat, as well as that of Mayor Pro Tem Berniece Bennett, are up for election this fall.
McDonough, considered a conservative, became the city’s first mayor in 1981 by receiving 16.3% of the vote--the highest of the 15 candidates running for the City Council of the new city.
McDonough, whose great-grandfather, grandfather and father, were plumbers, said he will continue to work with his brother in the family plumbing business, started in 1914 in West Los Angeles.
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