Hutton Leaving After 24 Years as Surf City’s Counsel

Gail Hutton, a fixture at Huntington Beach City Hall for 24 years as city attorney, will retire in September, two months before her elected term expires.

The 65-year-old Hutton is leaving early to take advantage of a “golden handshake” retirement package that sweetens her pension benefits.

The city, which is facing a $6-million budget deficit, is offering such deals to about 40 employees to reduce its payroll costs.

Hutton’s long career as the city’s top legal counsel was somewhat tarnished toward the end by the scandal involving former Councilman Dave Garofalo, who pleaded guilty in January to one felony and 15 misdemeanor counts of violating state conflict-of-interest laws. She said she has considered leaving for more than a year.

“I’ve served a long time, and I just feel that there are other challenges in life that I would like to entertain,” she said.

She said she might apply to the American Bar Assn.’s Eastern European legal advisory program, which sends lawyers to former Soviet bloc countries, which are trying to democratize and institute free-market economies.

“As a lawyer with 30 years of experience, I think I have something to offer,” Hutton said.

Hutton, whose new, Russian-born husband, Andrei Safirov, is a retired professor of political science and history, regularly travels to his homeland to lecture, sometimes staying for several months.

“It’s difficult for us sometimes,” Hutton said. They’ve been married 18 months.

Councilwoman Shirley S. Dettloff said that after six four-year terms in office, Hutton deserves the chance to retire.

“She’s been re-elected every time, which means the majority of the residents of Huntington Beach are supportive of the work that she’s done. That alone is a tribute to her.”

The council will decide during its meeting Monday whether to keep Hutton on as a consultant until her term expires, or have a deputy or outsider fill out the term.

Hutton, the only independently elected city attorney in Orange County, said she is proud of her legacy, having helped negotiate contracts and settlements that led to closing the oil fields in the Sea Cliff area, cleaning up the city’s beaches and bringing two major hotels to the waterfront.

But her legacy is also certain to be tainted by the Garofalo scandal.

Garofalo, as councilman and mayor, voted on city projects that involved advertisers in his local newspaper and the city’s annual Visitors Guide, which he also published. He was found guilty of repeatedly voting on matters that required him to abstain. In addition to a fine, he was given a suspended sentence and placed on three years’ unsupervised probation.

During the 17-month investigation into Garofalo’s actions, Hutton’s critics said she did not aggressively investigate the charges against him, and was slow in referring questions about his votes to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Hutton defended her actions, saying Garofalo did not fully disclose his involvement with the advertisers to her.

“It’s a low point when your council member gives you information that isn’t accurate and you try to fashion an opinion based on [that information],” Hutton said.

She said she looks forward to spending time with her husband and traveling.

But, she said, “I have three adult children and seven grandchildren in Southern California, so you can be sure I will spend the bulk of my time here.”