Boyd is back, ready for a new fight

Six months ago, Kelly Boyd was fighting for his life during a stem cell transplant meant to knock out the cancer that had invaded his body.

Now he is ready for the next battle, though the stakes this time aren’t life and death. Boyd, who is in remission, will be fighting to keep his spot on the five-member Laguna Beach City Council.

“I feel great. Otherwise I wouldn’t be running again,” Boyd, 70, said Sunday during his campaign kickoff event at the home of local attorney Larry Nokes, who chaired the View Equity Committee. The group was formed at Boyd’s behest to address trees and vegetation that block residents’ sight lines.

The council unanimously passed an amended view ordinance last week that sets guidelines for homeowners to reclaim sight lines lost to overgrown vegetation.

But Boyd, a lifelong Laguna resident who considers himself a fiscal conservative, isn’t content to rest after the landmark ordinance was passed.

The city has several projects in the works that he said he wants to see through, including expanding trolley service to non-summer months, undergrounding utilities, improving parking efficiency and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle safety along Laguna Canyon Road.

Boyd is the only one of three council members up for reelection who has declared an intent to run in November. Mayor Elizabeth Pearson will not seek reelection, while three-time former Mayor Toni Iseman is undecided.

Boyd is nearing the end of his second consecutive four-year term; he also served on the Laguna council from 1978 to 1982.

He applauds the city for keeping a 20% general fund reserve and noted past feats, such as opening the Laguna Beach Community and Susi Q Center, the new lifeguard headquarters and the Alternative Sleeping Location (the city’s overnight emergency shelter), renovating Heisler Park and repaving city streets.

Also eyeing a seat on the council are former Laguna Beach Republicans’ President Michele Hall, a yoga instructor; Planning Commission Chairman Robert Zur Schmiede; and Madison Square & Garden Cafe owner Jon Madison, who chairs the city Heritage Committee.

“I don’t look at it as competing,” Boyd said when asked about his challengers. “I look at it as who will be the best person to sit up [on the dais] and accomplish the things we need to accomplish.”

No one knows Laguna better than Boyd, said Pearson, who introduced her council colleague at Sunday’s gathering. Attendees included Festival of Arts board President Fred Sattler, business owner Mark Christy, Planning Commissioner Ken Sadler and former City Manager Ken Frank.

Boyd’s campaign committee includes View Equity Committee member Sue Kempf, former Laguna Beach mayors Cheryl Kinsman and Jane Egly, Planning Commissioner Linda Dietrich and Laguna Beach Rotary Club Treasurer Dave Sanford.

“He cares,” Pearson said of Boyd. “He gets Laguna, and he gives a context for the council ... talking about different issues, their history and context and why they evolved the way they did.”

Boyd considers himself nonpartisan and an independent thinker.

“I am not obligated to any group,” Boyd said. “My only obligation is to the citizens of Laguna Beach, to be fiscally responsible, ensure safety and security, and continue to make common-sense decisions.

“It’s not about me. It’s about a council that can work together and accomplish things that will make Laguna a better place to live.”

Pearson lauded Boyd’s dedication to the council in the past year as he endured chemotherapy treatments and a three-week stay last December at City of Hope hospital in Duarte for the stem cell transplant to fight multiple myeloma, a blood cell cancer.

Boyd said he receives a bone-strengthening injection every 30 days and visits his doctor and has blood drawn every three months.

“His ability through the trials and tribulations to survive, overcome and show up, that says a lot about somebody,” Pearson said about Boyd’s presence at council meetings and public events despite his illness.

“I don’t think I would do it. I’m thrilled he’s overcome [the cancer] and gotten back to his normal rambunctious self.”