HUNTINGTON BEACH : Cook Withdraws From Council Race

Former City Administrator Paul E. Cook said Thursday he is out of the City Council race, even though it is too late to remove his name from the Nov. 6 ballot.

“I’m out, and if by some fluke I were to win on Nov. 6, I won’t serve,” Cook said. “It’s a job I do not want. I got talked into becoming a candidate in the first place, and this week I realized that I just do not want to be on the City Council.”

Until he retired in February, Cook was the city administrator--the equivalent of city manager and thus the top-ranking non-elected official in Huntington Beach city government. A strong advocate of redevelopment, Cook is credited by the current City Council with getting the gears moving for the building now under construction in downtown Huntington Beach.

Cook said Thursday that business leaders were among those who urged him to get into the City Council race. “With John Erskine not running again, and the lack of business-oriented candidates, I was urged to run,” he said. “I’m still very interested in seeing redevelopment go forward, but I don’t want to spend $50,000 of other people’s money campaigning for a job I really don’t want.”

Cook said he still plans to speak out for redevelopment projects, “including the controversial ones,” as a private citizen. He said he believes the pro-business community needs to be represented, and added that he will be appearing at City Council meetings and other civic sessions to speak on behalf of downtown development.

Cook’s withdrawal leaves a total of 10 candidates vying for four City Council seats in the Nov. 6 election.