City clerk appointed in Hermosa Beach for first time
Hermosa Beach has its first appointed city clerk, after years of filling that job through elections.
Eduardo Sarmiento, Lynwood’s deputy city clerk, will become Hermosa Beach’s city clerk on Thursday, May 21st, according to a city announcement on Monday, May 18th. His responsibilities will be vast, including managing public records and requests to see those records by the public, tallying City Council votes and administering oaths of office.
“While working in the Lynwood City Clerk’s Office,” City Manager Suja Lowenthal in a written statement, Sarmiento “gained the experience and skills needed to meet today’s demands for a City Clerk and the growing complexities of that role in the digital era.”
Hermosa Beach only had one city clerk (her name: Elaine Doerfling) for nearly three decades. But in 2019, the elected city clerk announced her retirement after 29 years.
Then, in November, Hermosa Beach voters approved Measure CC, a ballot initiative making city clerk an appointed, rather than elected, position. In doing so, Hermosa Beach joined the vast majority of cities in LA County and across the state in appointing their city clerks.
“I’m looking forward to these challenges and feel well-prepared to manage the Hermosa Beach City Clerk’s Office,” Sarmiento said in a statement.
Sarmiento, who grew up in the City of Commerce, became the assistant to the city clerk for Lynwood, a city of 70,000, in 2018, and became deputy city clerk last year. Before that, he served in various positions for the Aspire Charter School from 2012 to 2018.
“I have always valued similarly tight-knit communities like Hermosa Beach, where everyone knows their neighbors,” Sarmiento said. “I look forward to meeting and working with the Hermosa community, and I hope to help bring this city’s operations into the future while bringing its community into the fold. My door, whether physical or virtual, is always open to help residents.”
