Coming in from the outside

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Councilwoman Debbie Cook is hoping to continue

former Councilman Dave Sullivan’s efforts to ensure an open and

accessible government.

Cook is one of two new council members leading the city into the new

year. She also will serve as the city’s vice mayor, under Mayor Pam

Julien Houchen, who was reelected to the council in November.

“I’m thrilled and deeply honored to have been elected,” Cook said

after being sworn in last month, adding that Sullivan has been a mentor

to her. Like him, “I’m coming in as an outsider, and I hope to leave as

an outsider.”Cook, 46, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and moved to

Southern California with her family in 1966. She studied earth science at

Cal State Long Beach and earned a law degree from Western State

University in 1994.

A 17-year Surf City resident, Cook and her husband, John Fisher, have

a son, Jody, 24, and a daughter-in-law, Michelle. During her time in the

city, Cook has experienced firsthand the challenge of small-business

owners as president of Cook-Fisher Inc., which specialized in

high-density storage systems for businesses and professionals throughout

California and Nevada. She worked as an attorney, providing legal

services for Huntington Beach Tomorrow, the Surfrider Foundation and the

Sierra Club, and has put her professional life on hold to devote her time

to the council.

Cook has a track record for community involvement in the city, serving

on the Planning Commission and as coauthor of the city charter amendment

Measure C, which requires the city to get approval from a majority of

city voters before proceeding with developments on the city’s beaches and

parkland.

She has also been a member of the city’s General Plan Advisory

Committee, South Beach and Central Park task forces, as well as the Bolsa

Chica Land Trust. As an environmental attorney, she was able to work on

the land trust’s legal team to protect the Bolsa Chica wetlands and other

state coastal resources.

“I think with what she brings to the job, she’s going to be the best

councilperson ever,” Sullivan said. “Her most important quality is

courage, and I think she has that in spades.”

Cook has also been a vocal critic of Councilman Dave Garofalo, who is

being investigated by county and state agencies for allegedly violating

conflict-of-interest laws, but she doesn’t believe it will affect her

time on the council.

“It’s not a personal issue, this is just about a difference in

philosophies,” she said. “I think it’s amazing that people want to make

this Cook versus Garofalo . . . and besides, I can just as easily vote

against my friends, as well as my enemies.”

Garofalo agreed.

“The challenge for me on the City Council is exactly the same as that

for Debbie and other council members,” he said. “It’s about working

together to reach an agenda we all agree on, and getting things done for

the city.”

He added that Cook and Connie Boardman, also a first-time council

member, will achieve much while on the board.

There are a number of issues Cook says should be addressed, both now

and over the next four years. Among them are water quality, commercial

goals for the Huntington Center and a larger focus on the needs of

southeast Huntington Beach.

“That part of the city seems to have been overlooked too long and will

get more attention in the next few years,” she said.