Northwest : HUNTINGTON BEACH : Moulton Patterson May Seek Council Seat

Linda Moulton Patterson is leaving public office, but she’s not about to say she won’t be back.

“I’m not going to say never to anything,” said Moulton Patterson, who forwent a bid for reelection to City Council last month for a race for the County Board of Supervisors. She was defeated by fellow council member Jim Silva, whose mid-term departure in January will create a vacancy on the seven-member council.

Moulton Patterson said that “if the council wanted me, I would certainly consider it.”

The council has decided to accept applications from the public to fill the vacancy and will make an appointment by late January.

Moulton Patterson said leaving public office and giving up her vote on the California Coastal Commission, on which she also sits, is “the heartbreak of this thing.” She was appointed to the commission in 1991 and can only hold the post if she remains in elected office. She plans to serve on the commission until February.

“It’s such an important commission,” she said, adding “its charge is to protect the coast and ensure public access so that everyone can enjoy the beach.”

“Orange County had not had a representative for 10 years, and it’s a shame Orange County is going to lose their only local representation,” she said.

Moulton Patterson was elected to the Huntington Beach Union High School District Board of Trustees in 1983 and served until her election to the council in 1990.

She said she is proud of a number of council accomplishments, including not allowing three restaurants to be built on the beachside: “They would have ruined views.”

She also played a leadership role in a restaurant no-smoking ordinance, a gift ban ordinance for public officials and the creation a task force to meet the needs of the city’s youths.

Moulton Patterson said that local government has become more accessible to the public.

“We have really listened to the public,” she said. “I think it’s important that the citizens get a chance to be heard. I’m proud to be part of a city where there is not apathy, where people come down and express their opinions, and I certainly see that in Huntington Beach.”