Green stepping down as mayor

Eron Ben-Yehuda

Peter Green will preside over his last City Council meeting as mayor

Monday before formally stepping down next month.

Having served 13 years in the government, Green brought a wealth of

experience to his leadership role that will be sorely missed, City

Councilman Tom Harman said. “He is the dean of the City Council.”

Green’s pride swells when he talks about the city’s low crime rate and

healthy economy.

The picture hasn’t always been rosy over the past year.

The added burden of being mayor weighed heavily on Green as the city

struggled through a disastrous summer in which a mysterious bacteria

contaminated coastal waters, threatening to ruin Surf City’s reputation

as a beach destination.

The source of the contamination remains elusive.

“This has taken my time and energy since July,” he said. “We have to find

that source.”

The former priest also drew criticism for his sometimes heavy-handed

style during council meetings.

“He likes to bang the gavel,” Harman said.

Green, who works as a full-time faculty member at Golden West College,

admits to maintaining order “too much like a college professor.”

But he felt justified during stressful meetings “where civility seemed to

go by the boards,” he said, especially when issues such as Wal-Mart,

Bolsa Chica and Downtown redevelopment came up for debate, he said.

It was a matter of respect, in fact, that led to Green’s most

controversial decision as mayor: when he unsuccessfully tried in April to

cut off the public microphone while resident John Briscoe criticized a

city official.

Until recently, Green had defended his conduct even after the council

paid $1,400 to settle a free speech lawsuit Briscoe filed. The city also

instituted new measures to prevent a council member from interfering with

public comments. For one thing, the mayor no longer controls the switch

that turns off the public microphone.

Now Green grudgingly admits he was wrong and that Briscoe should be free

to speak his mind. “Even donkeys have a right to bray.”

Politics aside, Green had to cope this year with the death of his sister,

Joann Rosemeyer, and his friend, former city treasurer Don Watson.

“It just makes the world a little darker, a little lonelier, a little

colder,” he said.

Despite these setbacks, Green plans to continue serving the community as

council member until his term expires in 2002.

“If I didn’t think it was worth the effort I wouldn’t do it,” he said.