New Mayor, Councilmen Take Oaths of Office

New Mayor Steve Aspel, as well as District 1 Councilman Jeff Ginsburg and District 4 Councilman Steve Sammarco, took the oath of office Tuesday night in the Redondo Beach Council Chambers.

Aspel, who previously represented District 1 for two terms, was elected mayor over current District 5 Councilman Matt Kilroy in a close runoff election earlier this month. Ginsburg and Sammarco also won their respective seats after a runoff.

"This is such an honor," Aspel told the assembled crowd. "It was quite a journey."

He hadn't planned to run for mayor, he said, until his family talked him into it. He thanked his family, former District 4 City Council candidate Julian Stern, and his campaign manager, former District 2 Councilman Chris Cagle.

"We have to break in two rookies," Aspel joked. "We're going to get to work."

Ginsburg also thanked his family.

"Really, what got me started on this was Leadership Redondo 2006 class," he said. "I didn't know anything about really the city politics or anything … (I) realized we just had such an incredible city, and I decided there was no way I would run against Steve Aspel—he's incredible."

Sammarco, too, thanked his wife and children, as well as his "adopted" parents who took him under their wing when he moved to California.

"I really look forward to serving the city and getting to work," he said.

Before the oaths were administered, outgoing Mayor Mike Gin presented Aspel and former District 4 Councilman Steve Diels with keys to the city; after the oaths, Aspel presented Gin with a key to the city.