Paul Clinton Outspoken Councilwoman Debbie Cook didn’t...

Paul Clinton

Outspoken Councilwoman Debbie Cook didn’t shy away from

controversy during her year as Surf City’s mayor.

Whether she was spearheading a bid to abolish prayer before

council meetings, pushing county sanitation officials to step up

treatment of their waste to cut down on beach closures or opposing

redevelopment for the southeastern section of the city, Cook took

stances in 2002 that often put her at odds with conventional

thinkers.

“[An effective city leader] certainly is someone who is willing to

go out on a limb,” Cook said. “And you’ve certainly got to be well

versed in regional issues.”

Colleagues praise Cook for her candor, intelligence and commitment

to civic service.

Former Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff, who left the council Dec. 2,

said Cook should be proud of her mayoral tenure.

“She served the city with dignity,” Dettloff said. “Overall, as

mayor, she did a fine job.”

After only a year on the council -- she was elected in November of

2000 -- Cook took over as mayor of Surf City. Her first order of

business: abolish the invocation that led off council sessions.

The move made her a lightning rod, but Cook, whose activism

brought her into the public realm in the early 1990s with the Measure

C campaign, said she saw the invocation as government sanctioning

prayer.

“I was willing to take the heat for it,” Cook said. “How can [an

invocation] possibly be constitutional? What it amounts to is

state-sponsored religion.”

Appropriately, Cook was also in the city’s top post when disgraced

former Mayor Dave Garofalo admitted his guilt in the Orange County

district attorney’s conflict of interest probe.

It was Cook who, in early 2000, filed the complaint that sparked

the investigation into Garofalo’s practices.

“It was fitting, because I worked so hard to bring this to light,”

Cook said. “It was ironic that I was mayor at the time.”

Cook also stirred the pot when she opposed the City Council’s

decision to name Grace Winchell, retired former mayor and

councilwoman, to the dais, opting for perennial city attorney

candidate -- and former Independent columnist -- Ron Davis.

Pro-airport activists who gave a presentation at a City Council

meeting in February got more than they bargained for, too, when Cook

blasted Orange County’s plans for an El Toro Airport.

Calling claims that the airport would be an engine for economic

growth “pie in the sky,” Cook said she preferred a mass-transit

system.

Cook became one of the few North County mayors to oppose an

airport at the former base, breaking ranks with her pro-airport

colleagues in Newport Beach. Oddly enough, Cook grew up in Newport

Beach, under the flight path of John Wayne Airport.

During the summer months, Cook, her council colleagues and a band

of tenacious activists began speaking out against the Orange County

Sanitation District’s sewage treatment practices.

As the activists traveled from city to city putting on

presentations, Cook echoed their views about the need for the

district to step up treatment of the 243-million gallons of waste

released via an outfall pipe each day.

Cook, a member of the district’s board, and other Surf City

leaders maintained the outfall waste was causing the repeated

outbreaks of bacteria in the surf zone.

The issue came to a head July 17 when the district voted to shift

to the higher treatment and drop a controversial federal waiver.

As a result, Cook now enjoys the support of environmental groups

who have been lobbying Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco) to name her

as Dettloff’s replacement to the California Coastal Commission.

A graduate of Cal State Long Beach, the 48-year-old Cook gave up a

career as an environmental attorney when she ran for council in 2000.

Cook cast one of two City Council votes opposing redevelopment for

southeast Huntington Beach, calling it “a wash” financially, and cast

the sole dissenting vote in the council’s August decision to table an

initiative that would have allowed residents to vote on a

redistricting plan.

Over the past few months, some residents have found fault with

Cook’s approach.

In a Nov. 21 letter to the editor, Kevin Carlin criticized “Cook’s

patronizing, condescending form of governance.” A week later, Elinor

Mattson said the new City Council should address “Debbie Cook’s

supercilious attitude.”

Cook brushes off the criticism, saying she isn’t worried about her

popularity in town.

“I am who I am,” Cook said. “Some people want [elected officials]

to take polls before they vote. ... I’m not pablum. If they want

pablum, I’m sure they didn’t vote for me.”

* PAUL CLINTON is a reporter with Times Community News. He

covers City Hall and education. He may be reached at (714) 965-7173

or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.