Woman’s Club honors an outgoing mayor

BARBARA DIAMOND

Toni Iseman drew the largest crowd ever to attend the Laguna Beach

Woman’s Club’s annual luncheon for the outgoing mayor.

“The variety of groups represented here today pretty much says who

Toni Iseman is,” club President Veronica Nice said.

Two standing ovations at the luncheon on Friday were further proof

of Iseman’s standing in the community. She was lauded for her

dedication to the city, her stamina and her ability to speak

eloquently off the cuff.

“Every place I went last year, Toni was there and she was speaking

-- without notes,” said Cheryl Kinsman, Iseman’s successor. “I asked

the city manager if we couldn’t do a proclamation, but he said no. So

cheap. But I scored a couple of things.”

Kinsman presented Iseman with a red ribbon, cut by her at a

business opening, and she snagged a clock handed out to guests at the

opening.

“I thank you for all you did,” Kinsman said, presenting the clock.

City Clerk Verna Rollinger said that in her next life, she would

like to be able to speak like Iseman, without notes.

“I think Toni is a woman with vision,” Rollinger said. “I see

what’s out there -- she’s ahead of the curve.

“If something good is going on in town, she’ll be there.”

Laguna’s first female mayor, Phyllis Sweeney, said she was honored

to honor Iseman.

“I want to thank you, Toni, for your commitment to Laguna Beach

and all the coastal communities whose heritage we pass on,” Sweeney

said.

Eric Jessen of the county’s Harbors Beaches and Parks division

said what always struck him about Iseman were her questions.

“They are always loaded,” Jessen said. “And I am pretty sure she

already knows the answers; she just wants the public informed.”

He called her a first-class mensch, a Yiddish expression that has

come to mean a stand-up person.

Arnold Hano recalled Iseman’s first run for office in 1998.

“We met at Toni’s house,” Hano said. “The results trickled in. She

was always fourth.

“We got glummer as the night wore on and finally at midnight said,

‘Nice try. You’ll do better next time,’” Hano said.

Steve Miller, who shares Iseman’s life along with Bob the Cat, her

son, Nick, and the telephone, advised the downcast supporters that it

wasn’t over.

“The next morning, I called to get the official results,” Hano

said. “The guy said ‘Docterow, Freedman and Iseman.’ I said, you have

that wrong. So the guy started over: ‘Docterow, Freedman and

Iseman.’”

Hano said, “Still wrong, and he started over again.”

Hano finally accepted the news.

In her second election, as supporters predicted, she did better,

coming in as the top vote-getter.

Nice presented Iseman with flowers and a plaque from the club and

handed over the microphone.

“I’ve been promising friends that we’d have lunch someday soon --

this is real economy of scale,” Iseman said. “I could talk about

politics, but that would empty the building.”

She did talk about proposals to reduce noise and traffic in town;

some of the perks of being on the council, including the special

parking sticker; and glimpses of her private life outside of City

Hall and Orange Coast College, at which she counsels students.

Iseman shared one problem for public figures, at least female

public figures.

Chin hair.

Iseman found herself parked in a vehicle outside of the Hotel

Laguna last year with a few moments to spare. She glanced into a

mirror and beheld that most frightening sight -- a long chin hair.

“You never see them at home,” she said.

Fully prepared for all emergencies, Iseman pulled tweezers out of

her pocket and dealt with the hair. But there were others, and so she

proceeded to pluck

“Suddenly, I realized, I am the mayor and I am parked on a public

street and I am pulling out chin hairs,” she said.

Police Chief James Spreine said that was more information about

women than he ever wanted to know.

He confided that he has seen Iseman with fewer clothes on than

most of the guests at the luncheon. They appeared together in

“Lagunatics,” and he shared a dressing room with her.

Offstage, Spreine said, he has worked with a lot of mayors and

council members, but Iseman was something special.

When residents called Iseman with a complaint, the chief was sure

to hear about it.

“She made it difficult for me as police chief, but she has done a

lot for me as a citizen,” Spreine said.

Iseman has done a lot for all of us, said Carolyn Wood, president

of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy, which Iseman helped to found.

“Her contributions to our quality of life are enormous,” Wood

said.

Iseman thanked the friends and admirers who attended the luncheon,

with a special nod to Miller.

“People say [Councilman] Wayne Baglin is OK because he has such a

nice wife,” Iseman said. “I know people say I am OK because Steve is

so wonderful.”

The luncheon also included the club’s annual Dessert Contest.

Among the judges: club member Jane Egly, reportedly a closet council

candidate, and Deputy City Clerk Martha Anderson, a candidate to

succeed the retiring Rollinger.

Nice was the winner in the Chocolate Category. Peggy Ford’s

refreshing, no-sugar, fruit whip and Nicole Cornell’s carrot cake

tied for first place in the Other Category.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, CA 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite

22; call 494-4321; or fax 494-8979.