Elections are over, it’s time to get busy

First off, we would like to extend our hearty congratulations to

those candidates who came out on the winning side of a long, hard

election campaign.

While some of the victors were not our first picks for the job, we

believe it’s time for all parties to set aside differences and get to

work.

Before we address our new leaders, we should extend our thanks to

the losers, for their dedication to our city and schools. There are

far too many to list here, which just demonstrates how many caring,

active citizens Huntington Beach has. While neighboring cities had a

handful of candidates at best for any given position, Surf City’s

hopeful leaders numbered 50.

As for the winners -- get to work.

Seriously though, for even the most involved newcomers there is

learning to be done before you can successfully step into your new

roles.

For some, like City Attorney-elect Jennifer McGrath, the

transition should be a relatively smooth one. But in other races,

voters have given their confidence to some new leaders.

The City Council faces a major overhaul, which should be made

smoother by the return of former Councilman and Mayor Dave Sullivan,

who is no stranger to the council game -- although the feisty

Irishman isn’t exactly known for his even temper.

The other three are fresh faces to the dais. And while Cathy Green

may have an inside track to the workings of the council as she

replaces her husband, two-term Councilman Peter Green, and Jill Hardy

may have studied some issues as a planning commissioner, they will

all have some homework to do.

As for our three school boards, two face less of a challenge than

the third. It should be pretty much business as usual in the

Huntington Beach City School District, where two incumbents, Shirley

Carey and Robert Mann, returned to office. Bill Wallace, while new to

the board, has been watching it pretty closely for years.

The high school district likewise sees the return of two trustees,

Matthew Harper and Bonnie Castrey. The newcomer to that board, Brian

Garland, is well acquainted with school boards and the high school

district as the newly retired principal of Edison High School and a

veteran member of the city school district board.

Just for the record, while we admire Garland for his work at the

high school and his devotion to the elementary school board, we did

not endorse him because we felt his longtime job as a high school

district employee raised some potential conflicts.

Voters obviously disagreed and believed his familiarity with the

high schools would be a plus. That being said and done, we wish him

well on the board and we are sure he will do a good job, potential

conflicts or not.

The Ocean View School District, however, saw two incumbents, Pam

Walker and Carole Kanode, unseated by Carolee Focht and Sharon

Holland.

Voters obviously felt it was time for a change. We will watch

closely to see what happens.