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.”
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