The race for public office begins

Barbara Diamond

Martha Anderson announced this week that she will run for city clerk,

making her the first candidate to publicly throw her hat in the ring

for office in the November 2004 city election.

Anderson brings to her candidacy almost five years’ experience as

deputy city clerk, compliments from the City Council on her minutes

of the meetings and the endorsement of retiring City Clerk Verna

Rollinger.

“I hope everyone will join me in wishing Verna our very best when

she retires at the end of the year and join both of us in my campaign

to maintain the highest standards of excellence that our community

has come to expect of this office,” Anderson said.

The city clerk is the city’s legislative administrator, records

manager and elections official. The clerk is often the first contact

for members of the public who have business at City Hall, Anderson

said.

“I am behind her 100%,” said Rollinger, who has been Laguna’s city

clerk since March 1976. “She is the most qualified person for this

job, based on her years of experience doing the work.”

Anderson has served the city as Rollinger’s deputy since 1999.

“I believe that Martha’s succession as city clerk will safeguard

the city’s administrative functions performed by this office,

something that is critical when not knowing the law and proper

procedures could result in lawsuits and cost the city unnecessarily,”

Rollinger said. “City Council members, city staff and the public all

depend on the accuracy, organization and timeliness of our work, so

that their work is done according to the law.”

Anderson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English and history,

also has experience in city departments other than the clerk’s

office, which gives her valuable understanding of how the city

operates.

She began working for the city 13 years ago, the first five years

as an administrator in finance and personnel and then three years in

the Zoning Department and for the Design Review Board.

“I am committed to maintaining the professionalism and high

quality of work of the city clerk’s office,” Anderson said.

“We will continue to be independent and open to everyone,” she

said. “I want to continue to improve access and communications

between the citizens and City Hall and help streamline the way we do

business.”

She is especially dedicated to completing a project started by

Rollinger to make city documents available online, and she hopes to

persuade the City Council to make campaign donation reports available

this year, she said.

Anderson has lived in Laguna Beach since 1981 with her husband of

38 years, “Andy” Anderson, a professor of economics at Cal State Long

Beach. They share their home with a basset hound, Frederick the

Great, and an English bulldog, Field Marshall Allenby. She enjoys

golf and kayaking.

She worked for three years as an elementary school teacher before

moving to Laguna. After the move, she gained administrative

experience at local firms and nonprofit organizations, including

South Coast Medical Center.

Anderson has found time during her years in Laguna to volunteer

with various community organizations, including the Laguna Art

Museum, Laguna Canyon Foundation, Laguna Greenbelt Inc., the

Friendship Shelter and Village Laguna.

“Experience in this job is a quality that benefits all residents

of Laguna Beach,” Rollinger said. “She knows the job and will make a

terrific city clerk.”