Seal Beach Council Election Update

District 5 Council Member Sandra Massa-Lavitt will be termed out this year after serving two fouryear terms, so her seat is now open. District 5 covers all of LW west of St. Andrews Drive. That includes Mutuals 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and part of Mutual 1.

The following candidates have filed nomination papers with the Office of the City Clerk of Seal Beach:

• Mariann Klinger of Mutual 9, Seal Beach planning commissioner, representing District 5.

• Michael McGrorty of Mutual 4, retiree.

• Nathan Steele of Mutual 7, business owner.

• Jonathan Rich of Mutual 1, professor/statistician.

Also up for election are representatives for District 1, Old Town and Surfside Colony; and District 3, Marina Hill, Coves, Bridgeport and Heron Pointe.

To win a council election in Seal Beach, a candidate must receive 50% of the vote plus one. If none of the candidates in a given district reaches 50% plus one, the top two candidates compete in a runoff election.

The city council is the community’s legislative body and provides direction on business matters, sets policy, and adopts the annual budget, according to the Seal Beach website. As a legislative body, its members are the community’s decision makers.

The city manager serves at the pleasure of the city council as its full-time executive whose job it is to administer city staff, projects, policies and programs on behalf of the council.

The city council meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Unless otherwise