Dreary weather may have dampened Ocean Beach on Memorial Day weekend, but civic-minded residents were undeterred in attending the candidate forum, which drew a packed house at the community center on May 22, hosted by the Ocean Beach Association (OBA). The forum gave voters the opportunity to hear from candidates for mayor, trustee, and village justice ahead of the upcoming election. Every race is contested, with more candidates running than available positions.
In the mayoral race, incumbent James Mallott is challenged by Ian Levine.
Trustee Levine, who was first to speak, explained his priorities for the role were “governance and operations, infrastructure and environment, and community involvement.”
Mallott spoke of his previous accomplishments as mayor while acknowledging the significant involvement of the other board members. “We do this as a board. We work together as a board to do all the things that I’m discussing now. Nobody is in the dark.” Mallott stated. Additionally, He addressed the recent fire. “It was a tremendous save. Tremendous!” He continued to explain the ongoing follow-up activities after the fire, including cleanup, sanitization, and electrical inspections, among other things. Mayor Mallott also used the forum to announce an extension of the deadline to submit this year’s property taxes without penalty, from July 1 to September 1, which drew a round of applause from the audience.
In the trustee race, Dawn Hargraves and Marco Arment are both running for re-election, while Andrew Hemingway challenges them. In her speech, Hargraves discussed her successes with funding the recreation program. She continued to emphasize that most of the work that gets done is not due to individual effort but instead the team. “I’m uncomfortable with the saying I, because we really are a we,” she said.
Arment cites his previous successes in regulating shop signs in town and rebuilding the town website as reasons he should be re-elected. He also mentioned the fire, explaining that he drafted a law to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Hemingway said he brings different ideas and perspectives to the table. Among these ideas are changes to the beautification code, the creation of a dog park, and the introduction of a residential line to the ferry.
However, it was suggested at the meeting that special lines for ferry access could face legal challenges.
Regarding the legal basis for the creation of a residents-only ferry line, Justice William Wexler said in a response to an anonymous audience question, “My back-of-the-envelope thought process is no, it’s a public place.”
Wexler is also running for re-election for the role of Village Justice against Ali Marin Mitchell.
For those eligible to vote in Ocean Beach, the election is on June 5, at the Ocean Beach Community House. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
