Sea Kings Take on City Council

PVHS students became politicians this year as they campaigned for the Palos Verdes Estates City Council election in March. With seven candidates running, the PVE City Council election was competitive this year as there were only three spots available within the city council.  

Juniors Anton Lok and Emmy Rener volunteered for Betty Lin Peterson, who ran for re-election. They were in charge of the high school internship program.

After volunteering with Al Muratsuchi, who ran for state assemblymember, Lok and Rener used their prior experience to head the internship program they created for Peterson’s campaign.

“I saw [Peterson’s] campaign and I believed in it, and I believe in her, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Rener said.

From managing ten interns to phone banking, Lok and Rener dedicated themselves over the past two months to campaigning. Rener even opened her house to create an “intern headquarter” for phone banking specifically.

“Working on Betty’s campaign has been a much smaller scale than that of Al’s campaign but it’s really interesting to be more hands-on with the interns and assume more of a leadership role,” Rener said. “But at the same time I get the benefit of working on a grassroots campaign by personally calling voters and overseeing the interns.”

Senior Brynn McCarthy assisted her father, Kevin McCarthy’s campaign. After Kevin McCarthy retired and decided to run for PVE city council, the McCarthy family came together to prepare for the election.

“It’s interesting. You find out a lot about people and politics which isn’t the most fun, but it’s exciting and it’s something we get to do together… it has been a good bonding experience for him and I,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, in preparation for the election, has been involved in many campaign activities and has become her father’s campaign sidekick.

As her house became the “campaign headquarter,” the election was able to bring the McCarthy family together.

“I help him with signs, we staple them one night and deliver them. I helped coordinate the party a little bit. I help put out flyers and ask my friends, ‘Oh are you 18? Go vote for my dad!’” McCarthy said.

The PVE City Council Election, held on March 5th, had some controversial results. As none of the incumbents were re-elected, the three new members include Michael Kemps, David McGowan, and Victoria A. Lozzi.  

Although Peterson and McCarthy were not elected, the election gave students a great opportunity to experience a real political campaign.