Manhattan Beach City Council Candidate Meeting, Event Schedules

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — With less than two months until the Nov. 3rd election, candidates and incumbents for Manhattan Beach City Council are stepping up their campaigns with meetings and events, such as COVID-19 allows.

Three council seats are up for grabs in the upcoming election. Incumbents Mayor Richard Montgomery and council member Steve Napolitano are in the run with council member Nancy Hersman deciding not to seek re-election.

A total of seven candidates are running. In addition to the incumbents, they are Phoebe Lyons, Grettel Fournell, Chaz Flemmings, Mark Burton and Joe Franklin. City Treasurer Tim Lilligren is running unopposed.

Of Lyons, who just turned 23 and has lived in Manhattan Beach all of her life, Manhattan Beach resident Lisa Scalia, said, "We are truly excited to see a young, intelligent and informed woman like Phoebe running for Council!" The candidate is holding a "Virtual Meet and Greet With Phoebe" tomorrow [Wednesday, Sept. 9] at 7 p.m. The event is being held via Zoom. Details and a link are provided on Lyons' candidate's website homepage.

Seeking a city council seat is Grettel Fournell's first foray into seeking an elected advisory position in Manhattan Beach. Her husband Bill has been seated on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees since 2007 and is stepping down in the Nov. 3rd election, making his seat one of two available on the school board. Her campaign kickoff Zoom event was held on August 27 and the recording of it is available on her candidate's website. Fournell will begin hosting weekly "meet and greet" Zoom events this coming Friday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. "These events will be listed under the News and Events tab [on her website], will be open to the public but will require an RSVP to get the Zoom link," she told Manhattan Beach Patch.

Candidate Chaz Flemmings is new to Manhattan Beach, having moved to the city just last year. He has been in the Los Angeles area since 2001. The 29-year-old has a candidate website. The website did not have any events listed on it as of publication and emailed in information once the article published. Flemmings is holding a "Meet Chaz Flemmings for Manhattan Beach City Council" on Monday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. on Zoom. The meeting link is https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8509607689?pwd=WkxYNTBCaElGNlNDQVVVeGM5Q21TQT09, the meeting ID is 850 960 7689 and the Passcode is "mb4all," he said.

Mark Burton, who served a four-year term on the Manhattan Beach City Council from 2013-2017 and is a retired city attorney, has lived in the city some 40 years. He ran as an incumbent in 2017 and narrowly missed returning to council, coming in fourth with three available seats. He had 2,521 votes to currently serving council members Napolitano [4,450 votes], Hersman [3,472] and Montgomery [2,753]. He also ran in the last election on March 5, 2019. That election put Suzanne Hadley and Hildy Stern on council, where they presently serve. Burton came in fourth, with Joe Franklin [another candidate in the upcoming election] in third. As of publication time, his candidate's website did not have any events listed. "We will be scheduling several Zoom meet and greets in the near future," Burton said earlier this month. "The plan is for me to Zoom invite residents where I will make a 15-minute presentation and take questions afterwards. I will also be attending Zoom meetings by invitation."

Joe Franklin, a 36-year resident, is holding his "Campaign Kick Off Party" this Wednesday, Sept. 9 from 4-7:30 p.m. at an outdoor venue with "proper social distance," he told Manhattan Beach Patch. Details and a way to RSVP is available on his candidate's website. He is currently a commissioner on the city's Parking and Public Improvements Committee. Franklin ran in the March 5, 2019 city council election, losing to Hadley [3,111 votes] and Stern [2,363] to his 2,172 votes.

Montgomery and Napolitano, who are incumbents, also have events scheduled or planned. When contacted by Manhattan Beach Patch, Napolitano, a lifelong Manhattan Beach resident who has served on council from 1992 - 2005 and 2017-2020, said he is working on his event schedule. Montgomery, a 32-year resident, is hosting Zoom coffee events every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. These events, which he used to hold with assistance from city staff once he became mayor in March, are now being run by Montgomery minus official city help. As of publication time, they had yet to be posted on his candidate's website.

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