About Karen
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Urban planner
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Laguna Beach Resident Since 1986
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Small Business Owner
I’m not running against anyone.
I’m running for Laguna Beach.
Laguna is home
I came to Laguna Beach in 1986 and believed I had found the place where I would always live. Nearly four decades later, Laguna is still my home—and that is exactly why I am running.
I have watched the city change, and I believe Laguna has started down the wrong path. Decisions that should be guided by clear rules, public discussion, and the democratic process too often seem to depend on confusion, exceptions, and who you know.
Experience with a purpose
My professional background is in urban planning. For more than 30 years, I have worked with planning documents, zoning rules, development proposals, public agencies, property owners, and communities. I understand how decisions that appear technical on paper affect people’s homes, businesses, neighborhoods, and everyday lives.
I have also served Laguna Beach on the Open Space Committee, Affordable Housing Task Force, and Housing and Human Services Committee. That service reinforced my belief that complicated issues require careful analysis—and that the loudest or most influential voice is not necessarily the correct one.
Why housing matters to me
I served on Laguna Beach’s Affordable Housing Task Force and Housing and Human Services Committee because housing policy is not abstract to me.
I have watched the people who pour our coffee and serve our meals arrive well before their shifts simply to find parking, then walk 20 minutes to work. After a day spent serving our community—often for wages that make living in Laguna impossible—they face the drive home through congested Laguna Canyon.
These workers are part of Laguna and help keep our community functioning every day. Our decisions about housing, parking, transportation, and infrastructure should recognize the dignity of their work and the burdens our current system places on them.
Caring for what cannot be replaced
People who know me know that I have a difficult time walking past a living thing that needs help. Over the years, I have fostered and rescued many dogs. I have also carried discarded plants home from the trash because, to me, they are living things—not disposable decorations.
These may sound like small personal details, but they reflect something fundamental about me. I believe in stewardship: caring for what we have, protecting what cannot be replaced, and looking closely before deciding that something—or someone—is disposable.
That same instinct shapes how I see Laguna Beach. Our trees, beaches, open space, neighborhoods, local businesses, public institutions, and community relationships deserve thoughtful care.
Why I’m running
When rules are unclear or have not been comprehensively updated, the process becomes more difficult and more adversarial. It creates confusion and acrimony. It also undermines public trust when people believe outcomes depend less on consistent standards than on access, influence, or personal connections.
I am not running to build a political career. I am running because I love this city and believe my planning experience, knowledge of Laguna, small-business background, and commitment to open government can help restore confidence in City Hall.
I will ask hard questions, do the homework, and explain my decisions. I will listen to residents, follow the rules, and work to make sure those rules are clear, current, and applied fairly.
Laguna is my home. I want it to remain a place where the public process matters, decisions are made in the open, and every resident has a fair chance to be heard.