City Council elections in La Verne were canceled when only two candidates, the two incumbents, filed to run. Either Rick Crosby and Wendy Lau are doing a terrific job, or potential challengers were napping (a popular pastime in sleepy La Verne).
Crosby and Lau were sworn in on Monday night. I made a point of being there. There’s so little news in La Verne that this morsel might be the best 2024 will offer me.
Also, my last council meeting in La Verne was the night Crosby and Lau were sworn in the first time. And it was remarkable.
The newcomers had faced voters on March 3, 2020. Due to social distancing, when they were sworn in that April 6, along with the new mayor, Tim Hepburn, only 11 people were allowed in the room, with myself as the only member of the public.
Well-wishers, including their families, either watched from home or through the plate-glass windows. When Crosby, Hepburn and Lau each took the oath of office, car horns blared from the parking lot and along D Street.
That was the most unique meeting I’ve ever attended — out of thousands — and it was an honor to be there to document the proceedings.
Back to Monday. I buttonholed councilmembers before the proceedings began. How did they interpret the lack of an election?
“I like to believe I’m doing a very good job and nobody wanted to run against me,” Lau said. “I wouldn’t have minded the competition. It is a lot of work and I don’t blame people for not wanting to do it.”
Crosby said he was “disappointed” not to have faced voters, but he takes it as a vote of confidence. Or a non-vote of confidence.
“We disagree at times,” Crosby said of the five-person council, “but the way we do it is cordial. I’m glad to serve another four years.”
Elections have been scrubbed before in La Verne, including in 2007 and 2010, when there were the same number of candidates as open seats.
That there were no challengers is a testament to Crosby and Lau’s effectiveness, Hepburn said.
“If people were unhappy, they would have run against them,” Hepburn told me.
Foregoing an election saved $200,000, of which $150,000 went back into the general fund. The other $50,000 was directed to a police effort to educate business owners on ways to protect themselves against break-ins and robberies, Assistant City Manager James Ranells told me.
After Lau and Crosby took their oaths of office, a short break allowed for photos, hugs and cupcakes. Lau and Crosby had cheering sections of friends and family, a big difference from 2020.
Now, about the mayor’s seat.
La Verne voters used to elect their mayor every two years, a practice that ended in 2022 when council districts were put in place. Hepburn was the last directly elected mayor.
Now the mayor’s seat is filled each year by a vote of the council. Technically any of the five members could rotate in, which is how it works in cities without a directly elected mayor, such as neighboring Claremont.
Hepburn, however, has been reappointed each time, and on unanimous votes. That continued Monday.
Lau, who had been the vice mayor, gave way to Steve Johnson rather than be elevated to the mayor’s role.
That was after Johnson and Meshal “Kash” Kashifalghita did an Alphonse and Gaston routine of trying to defer to each other to become vice mayor. Kashifalghita demurred, saying he’d “pick up the torch” next year.
I guess no one wants to nudge Hepburn aside, nor is he volunteering to go.
This is why I may not return to the La Verne council chambers for a while. Everyone’s too polite. But after a four-year absence, it was nice to be back.
Enterprising family
I was just mentioning downtown San Bernardino’s Enterprise Building in relation to the gift of the next-door Harris’ Building to the city. Now comes a chance to learn more about the 1927 Enterprise Building from one of its current owners.
Ryan Stanly will talk about its history, its current tenants and his family’s vision for downtown in a talk to the Historical and Pioneer Society at 7 p.m. Thursday (April 4) at Harris Memorial Hall, 796 N. D St. The public is invited and admission is free.
Hail, Zacatecas
Zacatecas Cafe, an icon of Riverside’s eastside, will be the subject of a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday (April 4) at the Riverside Main Library, 3900 Mission Inn Ave., sponsored by the Inlandia Institute. Among the guests are siblings William and Suzanna Medina, whose parents, Oscar and Josefina Medina, founded the restaurant 60 years ago. Attendance is free. Before you ask, no, the library will not be serving complimentary chips and salsa.
brIEfly
Saturday is the 50th anniversary of the California Jam outdoor rock festival that brought 200,000 people to Ontario on April 6, 1974 to hear the Eagles, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and other acts. While the festival has been a column subject here before, that was prior to my columns expanding to San Bernardino and Riverside. So let me ask anew: Were you at the first Cal Jam? Email me your memory of the festival, along with your city of residence, and we can commemorate Cal Jam here together.
David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, man. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter.
