Horgan to run for City Council

FOR THE RECORD

An April 27 story, “Horgan to run for City Council,” wrongly reported the land trust was backing founding member Flossie Horgan for City Council elections in November.

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Flossie Horgan, a planning commissioner and founding member of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, has announced that she will run for City Council in November. The 20-year resident said she’s running for a clean government, clean streets and a clean environment.

“Everything in Huntington Beach is tied to the environment ? health of the economy, health of our kids on the beaches, and in a community which depends on tourism as a livelihood,” she said. “It is imperative we make environment a top priority.”

Horgan, former president of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, is well known in the community for her work to preserve the wetlands from development.

A little less than 5,000 homes were proposed at the Bolsa Chica wetlands by developer Hearthside Homes. A decade after the land trust filed a lawsuit against the Coastal Commission, the commission agreed in 2005 to allow 349 homes to be built on the upper mesa of the wetlands.

“The people in this community are so intelligent and so participatory ? that’s what makes the city so wonderful,” she said. “That’s why we prevailed with Bolsa Chica ? because people believed in what we could do as a community.”

But the City Council’s vote for the Poseidon desalination project, which Horgan calls “short-sighted and irresponsible,” got her thinking about bringing a different perspective and moving the council in a direction away from where it was going. She said it seemed natural with her experience that she should run for council.

This year, four City Council members will be up for re-election: Gil Coerper, Cathy Green, Jill Hardy and Mayor Dave Sullivan. Horgan is expected to add to the environmental vote on the council along with Councilwoman Debbie Cook, who is serving her last two years. Horgan said she is announcing her candidacy early to hear about residents’ concerns and receive their input.

Mayor Dave Sullivan characterized her as a “strong candidate from the environmental side,” and noted her association with the 5,000-member land trust. “That’s a pretty good base to start with, and she’s very qualified to be a council member.”

In addition to environmental issues, Horgan cited curbing carbon dioxide emissions from city vehicles and improving public safety by recruiting the best candidates among her other priorities.

Horgan said getting her family to agree on her candidacy was the most important thing to her as it was an “extremely time-consuming job.”

“We sat down and had a meeting,” she said. Horgan’s husband Paul, a former attorney in Los Angeles, worked with her on the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. Horgan has two grown children, who attended Huntington Beach High School.

A UCLA graduate, Horgan taught biology part-time in several community colleges for 15 years including at Golden West, Cerritos, Santa Ana, Cypress and Santa Ana colleges. hbi.27-flossie-CPhotoInfoG81QBFHS20060427iyb1nsncLINDA NGUYEN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Flossie Horgan, a planning commissioner, announced on Earth Day that she’s running for City Council in November.