Mayor Coerper has few regrets

Huntington Beach gets a new mayor next week. As he looks back on the year, current Mayor Gil Coerper says he has few regrets.

Coerper will relinquish the position of mayor on Monday, passing the gavel to Councilwoman Debbie Cook, the current mayor pro tem who also was mayor in 2002. The mayor’s job rotates each year as the council members take their turn at being the chief parliamentarian.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Huntington Beach,” he said. “I had a great time being the mayor, representing the city on so many things and meeting so many interesting people.”

Mayors lead council meetings and serve as the face of Huntington Beach at public functions.

Coerper said one of his proudest moments was presiding over a unanimous vote to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in February, affirming goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city in an effort to help stop climate change and getting Coerper designated a “Cool Mayor” for his support. Cook brought forward the vote, but Coerper called his move to conservation a major learning experience as he attended a number of seminars on the issue.

“No matter how old you are, if you want to learn, you will learn,” he said. “Now I’ve got to do something about it. Before I just thought, “Oh well,” but now I’m a firm believer, and I’ll do whatever can do to help promote that.”

He also counts a summer trip to Huntington Beach’s sister city Anjo, Japan, as a major accomplishment. Coerper is the first Huntington Beach mayor to make an official visit there. He presented Anjo with a replica of a Woodie, and even months later he remains impressed by the city’s residents.

“There was very, very little graffiti,” he said. “Streets were extremely clean. We went into a recycling facility to take a look; they recycled absolutely everything.”

With three more years in his term, Coerper said he has plenty more to do on the council, which includes following up on a study he requested last week to look at handling emergency call dispatching for the fire department, police and marine safety division all in one place.

But what may stick out the most is his unfailing habit of talking about the public service efforts of Boy Scouts and similar groups in the city at nearly every council meeting. Coerper calls it a way of recognizing dedication to Huntington Beach.

“It’s what I call community involvement,” he said. “It’s folks being involved in your city to make it better.”