LagunaBeachCHAT analyzed the terms of all LB City Councilmembers going back to the mid-70’s.  The image above shows the terms-in-office of the current councilmembers (in red). Readers can see that the current council has 2 members serving their 5th terms (Iseman and Dicterow), Boyd serving his 4th, Whalen serving his 2nd and freshman Zur Schmiede serving his 1st.

This trend towards incumbents hanging around for exceedingly long periods is a recent one. If you look at the history (follow the link below to open the spreadsheet), you will see that in the past, 3 terms was the exception.

LagunaBeachCHAT applauds our current long-serving Councilmembers for their dedication and service to the city. However, the council positions were never intended to be life-long, and given the incumbent-advantage in elections, it means that promising new voices have a very difficult time getting a chance to serve.  There’s also the risk that innovative ways of addressing new challenges that our city faces are being overlooked in favor of old thinking that hasn’t worked so well in the past. LagunaBeachCHAT strongly advocates for councilmembers to relinquish their seats after no more than 2 terms.  Its only fair to give other folks a chance to serve and contribute.

Click here to see the full spreadsheet.