CITY FOCUS:City Clerk at halfway mark

The installation of newly elected council members on Tuesday will mark the halfway point in Martha Anderson’s first term as city clerk.

Anderson was installed in December 2004 by retiring City Clerk Verna Rollinger, who certified the election results before swearing in her successor.

“I pretty well knew what to expect when I was elected, thanks to the excellent example set by Verna,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s first official act as city clerk was to swear in Jane Egly and Cheryl Kinsman.

She also performs other ceremonies to swear officers in, including those for the city’s peace officers.

This year, she will certify the election before installing Toni Iseman, Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider and Kelly Boyd.

About 20% more voters turned out in 2004 than in 2006 and about 75% of them voted for Anderson: 10,781 votes out of 14,522 ballots cast. More than 77% of the Laguna Beach residents registered to vote went to the polls in 2004, compared to about 55.5% this year.

“I love this job and I am very grateful to Verna for her mentoring and to all the people who voted for me,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who ran unopposed in 2004, as did City Treasurer Laura Parisi, brought to her candidacy almost five years of experience as deputy city clerk, compliments from the City Council on the high quality of her minutes of the meetings, as well as Rollinger’s endorsement.

Anderson had served the city as Rollinger’s deputy since 1999 and strongly supported the completion of the project started by her predecessor to make city documents available online.

The city clerk is the city’s legislative administrator, records manager and election official. In addition to installing elected officials, the clerk swears in promoted police officers and firefighters.

Often, the city clerk is the first contact for visitors to city hall.

“We are here to serve the people,” Anderson said.

A city hall veteran, Anderson also had experience in other city departments, giving her valuable understanding of how local government works.

Anderson began working for the city 15 years ago, the first five years in the finance and personnel departments and then three years in zoning. Anderson worked for local firms and non-profits, including South Coast Medical Center, before joining the city staff.

Anderson has lived in Laguna since 1981 with her husband, Roy “Andy” Anderson, a retired professor of economics at Cal State Long Beach.

“We met in New Orleans when we both lived in a swinging singles apartment building,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who graduated from “Ole Miss” with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with majors in English and history, was teaching elementary school. He was working on his doctorate at Tulane.

The couple lived in Corona del Mar before moving to Laguna.

They share their lives with basset hound, Frederick the Great, and English bulldog, Field Marshall Allenby.