Councilman Greg Hill Wins Redondo Beach Mayoral Race

In what has been a bitter battle to gain control over a fractious City Hall, Redondo Beach voters Tuesday elected City Councilman Greg Hill as the new mayor and local businessman Kevin Sullivan to the contentious City Council.

With all 21 precincts reporting late Tuesday, Hill won the mayoral race. He was one of two candidates seeking the position vacated by Mayor Brad Parton after serving a maximum two terms. Hill, a financial consultant, sought the mayor’s seat instead of a second term on the council.

“I’m hoping to take the same skills I gained on the council and use them as mayor,” said Hill, who captured about 54% of the vote. “We’re facing uncertain times, and I felt it was a good time to try and lead the city towards some growth.”

Councilwoman Marilyn White, 68, garnered about 46% of the vote in the mayor’s race and is set to finish out the remaining two years on her council term representing District 5.

Sullivan garnered a substantial lead in the race for the council seat held by Hill for four years. He will represent residents of the city’s harbor area, which has been struggling to attract new business to its troubled pier.

In the city’s March 4 election neither Sullivan nor Parton captured enough of the narrow vote to avoid a runoff. Sullivan, a mortgage banker, took 41%, while Parton, an investment banker who has sought to remain a part of city politics, captured 39%.

Returns late Tuesday showed Sullivan with almost 58% and Parton with 42%.

The new council, which convenes Tuesday, will be facing a host of issues that have rocked city government in recent months. The fates of City Manager Bill Kirchhoff and Assistant City Manager Ken Simmons, who were both placed on administrative leave three months ago, have not yet been decided.

The City Council has since eliminated the assistant city manager’s post and transferred financial oversight power from the city manager to the city clerk.

In addition, the city’s director of information services was recently arrested on suspicion of conflict of interest for allegedly giving a computer maintenance contract to his roommate. He has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

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EDITION-TIME ELECTION RETURNS

REDONDO BEACH

City Council, District 2

21 of 21 Precincts Reporting

CANDIDATE: Kevin Sullivan

VOTE: 962 (58%)

CANDIDATE: Brad Parton

VOTE: 697 (42%)

Mayor

21 of 21 Precincts Reporting

CANDIDATE: Greg Hill

VOTE: 3,063 (54%)

CANDIDATE: Marilyn White

VOTE: 2,647 (46%)