City Council Selects Sue Kempf to Serve as Laguna Beach Mayor; Alex Rounaghi to Serve as Mayor Pro Tem

Laguna Beach, CA – On December 12, 2023, the Laguna Beach City Council selected Mayor Pro Tem Sue Kempf to serve as Mayor of the City of Laguna Beach. City Councilmember Alex Rounaghi, who has served on the City Council since 2022, was selected as Mayor Pro Tem.

“It’s an honor to serve our community as Laguna Beach Mayor,” said Mayor Sue Kempf. “Together with my colleagues on the City Council, we look forward to 2024 and our continued partnership with residents and business leaders as we all strive to make Laguna Beach a better place to live, work and visit."

Former Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen was recognized by Kempf and the City Council Tuesday with a proclamation, commending him for his service and dedication serving five previous terms as Mayor.

“Bob Whalen has diligently and passionately pursued issues of importance to the community and has provided leadership regarding numerous projects and issues - above all, representing our beautiful city with dignity and respect. I couldn’t be prouder to serve with him,” Kempf said.

Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempf was elected to the Laguna Beach City Council in 2018 and previously served as Mayor in 2022. Her City Council initiatives include the 2021 "Neighborhood & Environmental Protection Plan," to mitigate visitor impacts to neighborhoods, enhance City services for residents, and add environmental protection programs; implementation of the 2019 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Plan to reduce the threat of wildfire in Laguna Beach; and the creation of the Promenade on Forest, outdoor dining, and economic recovery programs for local businesses.

Kempf’s volunteer activities have included serving on the View Preservation Task Force as well as co-chairing the Disaster/Emergency Preparedness Committee after graduating from the first Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class. Kempf has also served three terms on the City’s Planning Commission, to which she brought a wealth of knowledge about software development and systems infrastructure, gained as the Executive Director for Verizon’s four primary data center locations in the western United States. Kempf also spent three years as President of Mirion Technologies Dosimetry Services and served as Managing Director of Vodafone. She was also a boys basketball coach at the Boys and Girls Club in Laguna Beach for several years. Kempf retired from her software career in 2017 and lives in Laguna Beach with her spouse, Cheryl.