Time Flies at Council Meeting When City Clerk Gets Angry

The Redondo Beach city clerk this week struck a blow for the public’s right to speak--almost.

City Clerk John Oliver went ballistic Tuesday night after Mayor Brad Parton refused to allow public comment on a proposal to lay off some city workers because of a budget shortfall. Oliver challenged Parton to a fight in the back room and then threw two electronic timer devices at the mayor.

“Goddamn it, I’m sick and tired of this crap,” screamed Oliver, who has previously complained that the council has not followed the law in allowing the public to comment on city matters.

After the projectiles narrowly missed Parton and another councilman, Oliver was escorted from the room by a police officer.

The council eventually decided to avoid layoffs by continuing a hiring freeze and cutting $1.2 million from its $35-million budget. Parton attributed the tumultuous session to the tough task at hand.

“It was more emotional than usual,” Parton said. “When you talk about layoffs, it can set people off.”

There are no plans to discipline Oliver, an elected official who cannot be removed by the council.

Fractious meetings are nothing new in Redondo Beach.

Last spring, City Manager Bill Kirchhoff distributed a memo about how the sessions might be conducted more peacefully.

“I have never seen a city council conduct a business meeting like you do. Ours is more akin to a rough-and-tumble union hall labor negotiation than the business meeting for an upper-economic, historical city steeped in rich traditions. . . . Your energy and enthusiasm for the job is limitless, but you sure come off looking bad,” the memo read.

The memo resulted in some improvements, but Tuesday night was reminiscent of days gone by.

Councilwoman Kay Horrell accused Councilwoman Barbara Doerr of blabbering, and Doerr compared Councilman Stevan Colin to a squirrel. Colin angrily offered City Atty. Gordon Philips his spectacles when the two disagreed on a code interpretation.

As for Oliver, he was back on the job Wednesday morning and conceded that his temper had gotten a bit out of hand.

“I have a very long fuse,” Oliver said. “But when it goes off, it goes off.”