Charles Cooper continues his Arcadia city centennial series "Memories of Arcadia" with a story about Arcadia's mayors. A. N. Multer was the first person to be given the title of mayor of Arcadia. City founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was the city's first presiding officer, but he held the title of president of the Board of Trustees. The title of mayor was not adopted until 1927, when the Board of Trustees changed to the City Council. Arcadia will have 4 mayors this year to mark the city's centennial. Each city council member will rotate into the position. More interesting facts: Floretta Lauber was the first woman to serve as mayor. She paved the way for Mary Young, Barbara Kuhn, and Gail Marshall to follow. Other history of mayors is recapped. The first city manager was William J. Richards in 1951, when a charter was adopted. The longest serving city official was City Clerk Christine Van Mannen, who held the job for 32 years. See hard copy in VF Arcadia (City) History.
Arcadia kicks off 2020 City Council election. Final candidates in District 1 are Mayor April Verlato running for reelection and newcomer Yuli J. Sira. Verlato is currently on the last year of her first term on city council and she as elected mayor her last year. She is an attorney with Verlato and Roberts law firm in Arcadia. She is a native of Arcadia, with a long list of endorsements, including former mayors of Arcadia. Sira is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. District 4 has two candidates--longstanding council member and former mayor Peter Amundson and newcomer Paul Cheng. Amundson has completed three terms on City Council and served twice as mayor. He is an Arcadia native, with a long list of endorsements. Paul P. Cheng is a highly publicized attorney specializing in business operations and commercial realty transactions. He previously ran for Arcadia City Council in 2010. Also up for reelection is City Clerk Gene Glasco. He is running unopposed.
New Arcadia City Council member April Verlato brings a new voice. She is a lawyer born and raised in Arcadia. She has been an activist against mansions. She is president of Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association (AIA). Her goals for her time in office are 1) to address the uptick in residential burglaries and 2) to improve Arcadia's business districts.
Iconic Arcadia windmill atop Denny's to be dedicated June 29, thanks to restoration efforts of former Arcadia mayor George Fasching and Joe Sargis. The windmill's new variable speed motor will run about 6 rotations per minute and it will be illuminated at night. Denny's is at northeast corner of Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive. The location used to be Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery and this windmill was its trademark. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 13, June 23, 2016.
Arcadia City Clerk is accepting applications from people under age 18 to serve on the Youth Advisory Council. It is a 7 member group appointed by City Council. Four must be current high school students and three must be middle school students. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 3, March 31, 2016.
The next Arcadia city council election in April will be an all-mail ballot, that is saving the city thousands of dollars. The five candidates for two seats are Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic, John Wuo, Sho Tay, Henry Nunez and Mary Dougherty.
There’s something about Mary. Mary Hansen (photo) honored by Arcadia Rotary Club with the Paul Harris Fellow award for service “above and beyond,” according to Arcadia Rotary Club President Pat Dolphin. Mary was also selected as 2018 Senior of the Year because of her 46-plus years of volunteer work throughout Arcadia.
Santa Anita Park concluded its 2002-2003 season on April 20 with a total of more than $1 billion wagered during the 85-day meet. Average daily handle was $11.8 million, representing a decrease of approximately 2% from 2002.
Arcadia election heating up: candidate forum next week. There are two open seats on council for 4-year terms and the City Clerk position is open for a 4-year term.
A special reception will be held to thank Mary E. Dougherty for her 16 years of service on the Arcadia Board of Education. Her fourth consecutive term expires at the end of June.
Arcadia’s iconic windmill restoration almost complete. Mid-November slated as tentative schedule for installation. The former Van De Kamp windmill atop what is now Denny’s, was restored once, but broke in a freak accident. The current restoration is being done by Joe Sargis and his company Creative Fabrication and Design on St. Joseph Street in Arcadia.
Sierra Madre hero John Shear was honored during opening weekend at Santa Anita Park. On March 12, 2011, the then 90-year-old British native John Shear saved a young girl's life at the track when a horse bolted in her direction.
Obituary/death notice. Arcadia to celebrate life of City Council member Roger Chandler on Tuesday, December 7 at 6:00, prior to the City Council meeting at 7:00. Chandler served on City Council for almost 24 years.
Christina Farrell, former Arcadia High School student and member of the Pasadena Rose Court, looks back at her year and what she learned as a Tournament of Roses princess.
Iconic Arcadia windmill will turn, turn, turn. Former Arcadia Mayor George Fasching spearheaded the effort to get Denny's windmill running again. Restoration work will begin soon, with June as the target for the windmill to run again. The windmill was the trademark for Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery, which was at this site, at the corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue, in 1967.