Manhattan Beach Mayor Continues To Inform Public Sans City Staff

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — With a slight change in title, "Coffee With the Mayor" is now "Mayor Richard Montgomery's Zoom Coffee Meeting" and will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 3-4 p.m. through the Nov. 3rd election instead of the Wednesday after every City Council meeting.

The name change comes as Montgomery seeks re-election in the Nov. 3rd election and is no longer using city staff to assist in his Zoom meetings. As mayor, Montgomery began his Coffee With the Mayor in March when he became mayor. All five Manhattan Beach City Council members routinely serve as mayor on a rotating basis.

"The Mayor's Coffee was not discontinued," explained City Clerk Liza Tamura, when Manhattan Beach Patch noticed it was not held on Wednesday, August 19 per its usual broadcast the day following a city council meeting. "Since Richard is a candidate in the upcoming election, and also mayor, he is taking precaution and conducting the Mayor's Coffee on his own. Therefore, he will provide his own Zoom access code and utilize his own personal email address for questions."

For those who want to tune into Montgomery's weekly Zooms, you can email him at richard@montgomery4council.com for details. During the one-hour Zooms, the mayor fields questions from those watching or listening and provides updates and insight on city government and activities in Manhattan Beach.

"It's [Coffee With the Mayor] just a way to communicate and talk to our constituents," said fellow city council incumbent Steve Napolitano. "The mayor represents the council and the citizens regardless of the timing of an election," he noted, adding he saw no problem with the mayor using city staff for assistance with his Zooms during an election. He compared it to receiving "hundreds of emails" as a council member and handing some off to city staff to handle. He said holding the Mayor's Coffee is "part of the job."

City Council candidate Phoebe Lyons told Manhattan Beach Patch, "I do feel that Mayor Montgomery using his elected position and city staff to campaign is inappropriate. I am glad to see that he is moving away from that official platform [using city staff] while the campaign cycle is ongoing. "

Those who watch Montgomery's Coffee With a Mayor have found them useful. One participant, Nicole Burke, posted on Facebook, "Since Richard Montgomery is a candidate for November (even though he is still the Mayor) ... to make the playing field 'equal' - since others mentioned it may be an unfair advantage - he is now running his own Zoom Wednesday sessions! The city will no longer be conducting the zoom calls or putting them on the city calendar.

"In my opinion - the info from the Mayor is super important and having that time to communicate with constituents outside council meetings is super important to me and very educational and a great way to stay involved!" said the Hermosa Beach resident who works in Manhattan Beach.

City Council candidate Joe Franklin agreed, "During these unprecedented challenging times, it’s important that Richard, as mayor, keeps our residents informed, and can make himself and City staff available to answer questions from residents."

City Council candidate Mark Burton said, "I believe the mayor announced that he has discontinued the Coffee with The Mayor." When told that wasn't the case, he proposed that it sounded like a candidate having a coffee on Zoom.

Said city council candidate Grettel Fournell, "No, I do not have a problem with Richard holding his Coffee With the Mayor and using staff. He is the Mayor and this is a proactive way of informing residents."

Explained city council candidate Lyons, "To my knowledge, he [Mayor Montgomery} will now be running them on his own and they will no longer be listed on the City calendar. That is what I mean by 'moving away from that official platform.'

"All the candidates are welcome to connect with our residents in any way they see fit at this time, outside of official City channels. I will also be holding weekly 'office hours' at different times each week as it is a wonderful way to engage with voters. Next week my chat will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and I am happy to have any and all residents attend." Lyons said she did not voice any objection to Montgomery holding his coffees using city staff.