Riverside Council Trio End Service

Tonight, three veterans of Riverside politics will cast their final votes as elected officials. With a combined 36 years of experience, City Council members Chuck Beaty, Joy Defenbaugh and Laura Pearson have seen it all, from phenomenal growth to a traumatic shooting spree at City Hall.

“Thirty-six years. That’s a long time,” said Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge. “As opposed to a loss, I think this is really a time to say thank you for those years of service. Each of them have left an imprint and impact upon the city and the community.”

Beaty, a Kansas native and retired high school principal, was elected to the council in 1994 to represent Ward 1, which includes downtown and the Wood Streets, Northside and Grand neighborhoods.

Beaty counts among his achievements a role in creating a centralized court complex, improved services for the homeless and efforts to revitalize downtown. He hopes to see downtown turned into a destination filled with culture, entertainment, dining, shops and homes.

“I can visualize this so clearly in my mind,” he said.

Beaty has also seen hard times during his years on council, most notably the City Hall shootings in 1998, when a former city employee tried to gun down the council. Beaty, shot in the face, shoulder and back, was the most seriously wounded and had to undergo many hours of surgery, as well as physical therapy that continues to this day. But he never considered retiring at the time.

“I said to myself, ‘Someone isn’t going to shoot me out of office,’ ” he said.

But the 69-year-old said the rigors of the job made him believe that now is the proper time to take his leave.

“I’m gone every night somewhere. I wanted to be home a bit,” he said.

Defenbaugh, 58, a Riverside native, was elected in 1992 to represent Ward 3, from the Wood Streets neighborhood to the Riverside Municipal Airport.

“Twelve years is a good time to serve, and a good time to leave,” she said.

She had initially planned to serve two terms but took on the third after the City Hall shootings and the killing of Tyisha Miller by police, which brought national scrutiny to Riverside.

“The city needed some stability,” she said.

Her proudest accomplishments include working on the rebirth of the Riverside Plaza shopping center, an aging shopping center at Central and Riverside avenues; providing more senior housing; creating a redevelopment zone of the Magnolia Center area; and serving on the March Joint Powers Commission, the agency overseeing development at the former air reserve base, of which she was a founding member.

“It’s been the greatest education I’ve ever had,” she said of her council experience.

She is forming a consulting company, the Defenbaugh Group Inc., which will specialize in transportation and reuse of former military bases.

Pearson, a Riverside native who recalls the citrus groves that once covered the city, was elected to the council in 1990 to represent the Riverside’s westernmost district, and was also wounded in the 1998 shootings. Often an advocate for animals and the city’s natural resources, she has already started a new job as executive director of the Riverside Humane Society.

She is proud of her role in the creation of the Hidden Valley wildlife area; the city’s trail system; new infrastructure in the La Sierra area, annexed by the city in the 1960s; and the coming renovation of La Sierra Park.

Pearson, 50, said she expects her life to be full with her new job in charge of the Humane Society. She is also a newlywed. “It’s kind of bittersweet, I suppose,” she said of her council retirement.

Three events this week will honor the retiring members.