Farewell to Honorary Mayor Jake Steinfeld

By FRANCES SHARPE / Editor-in-Chief

All photos by RICH SCHMITT / Staff Photographer

As Jake Steinfeld posed for a photo in front of the former Mort’s Deli on Swarthmore Avenue while talking about some of his favorite moments as the Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades, he was just as enthusiastic about looking forward to the future.

“Let’s come back and take this same picture at the end of 2017 to see what it looks like,” Steinfeld said. “I want people in the Palisades to visualize the future. It’s going to be great.”

The optimistic Steinfeld, who took office at the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner in June 2013, has become a very familiar face around town.

A resident since 1994, Steinfeld said that being the Honorary Mayor has been a blast.

“I’ve had the chance to do some really fun things that have made a difference and impacted people in a positive way. Whether it’s been meeting at the Optimist Club, at a school or at the temple, it’s always been a really fun, positive moment,” he said.

Steinfeld said the theme of his Mayorship has been to step up, chip in and give back to the community. “If everybody stepped up and gave back just a bit, think how much better our community would be,” he said.

“When the article came out in the Post about how it was time for me to pass the torch, it was amazing how many people came up to me and said something about it. People stopped me in Café Vida, Modo Mio and Beech Street and said they read it and were sad that I wouldn’t be the Mayor anymore,” he added.

What’s his advice for the next Honorary Mayor? “Have fun, get out into the neighborhood, meet these great people and just say yes to all the opportunities to represent our community.”

Here’s a look back at some of Steinfeld’s most memorable moments in his own words.

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Everything in Pacific Palisades has a neighborhood feel–even the events. The Citizen of the Year gala honors a lot of people who mean well and do good things. It was good fun. I found out the Citizen of the Year winner [Rob Weber] was a big Kings fan, so I reached out to my friend Luc Robitaille and got a signed jersey for him.

PACIFIC PALISADES FLAG CONTEST

When I became Mayor, I said I wanted to have some fun and bring the community closer together. Along with my Minister of Media Rich Cronin, I came up with the idea to create an official flag for Pacific Palisades and it was really exciting. The flag contest brought everyone together and doing it with the Post made it awesome. The response from the community was overwhelming and the two young guys who won were awesome because they were Palisades kids.

Life’s about moments—some great, some not so great; some big, some small—and the flag-raising ceremony was one those great moments. The flag is something that will hopefully be here for a long, long time. When you see that flag waving—whether it’s in your yard or at the Village Green, YMCA, Tivoli or the Library—we should all feel good about it because everybody had a say. It’s the community’s flag. Long may she wave!

INSTALLATION DINNER

What an incredible night. I have a picture in my office of [former Honorary Mayors] Gavin MacLeod and Ray Leonard on either side of me. A really great event. I remember not really knowing what I was in store for and my great friend Ray Leonard with a laugh and a smile said, “It’s a really cool thing. I’ve been a world champion boxer, but I loved telling people I was Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades.”

When I look at that photo when I raised the Honorary Mayor license plate over my head, it was the beginning of three great fun positive years. I met a lot of people who might not have come up to me before to say hi.

The feeling of camaraderie within the Palisades and the amount of engagement of all these different kinds of people has been really amazing.

FOURTH OF JULY

Anyone who has ever spent the Fourth of July in Pacific Palisades knows it’s really special. I remember shooting the starter gun for the race in the morning and motivating the crowd and looking down past the library on a sea of faces running. And being in that parade and seeing all those faces as you wave at them is just an amazing experience. I was blessed to run with the Olympic torch in London 2012, and I would put riding in the parade on par with that.

For my third year as Mayor, I wasn’t in town on the Fourth, so I thought, “Let’s do something positive.” So many people have asked me what it feels like to be in the parade, I thought it would be great to offer a chance to ride in the ‘Mayor Jakemobile’ and to benefit some local charities at the same time. The little boy [Gavin Alexander] who won and the charities were so excited.

TALKING TO SCHOOLS

Going to the schools—whether it was Paul Revere or Pali High or some of the elementary schools—has been terrific. I love talking to kids. I love to tell them my story because it’s about overcoming adversity. When I grew up, I was a fat kid with a stutter and I overcame that. I love it that those kids can look at me and think, ‘If that guy Jake can do it, I can too.’ It’s really exciting when kids come up to me afterwards and say it was really helpful to hear me speak.

HOLIDAY HO! HO! HO!

Riding on the fire truck for the Holiday Ho Ho Ho! is something I’m really going to miss. The guys at Station 69 are just awesome—so friendly, so nice and so accommodating. When you pull out of that massive garage, and you start waving to people on Sunset Blvd., that is really cool. And then you point and the Christmas tree at the Village Green lights up. It’s pretty magical.

PUBLIC MENORAH LIGHTING

What an awesome event on Swarthmore Ave. with Rabbi Zushe Cunin, Rick Caruso, the Chamber of Commerce and so many residents. What was interesting and exciting for me is the friendship I have with Rick Caruso. I’m a big proponent of what he’s going to do in our Village. It’s going to be transformational. I want everybody to visualize what Swarthmore Ave. will look like in the future, and I promise I will make a return appearance to light the Menorah in 2017. That’s going to be a great moment.

MR. & MISS PALISADES TEEN CONTEST

To see the evolution of the teen contest has been really great. The 2015 event is the first of a new beginning. Wow! The talent, the show itself—it was amazing. It was really exciting to speak to the audience. It takes a lot of courage for teens to get up and sing or tell a joke. I admire anyone who goes a little beyond what their capabilities might be. When these kids get up there, it’s magnificent to see.

SPELLING BEE

The Spelling Bee—this is is like the Olympics! When I went to the Spelling Bee for the first time, I was blown away. These little kids get up and spell words in front of their parents and people they don’t know, and that takes a lot of courage. I couldn’t do that when I was a kid. When I see kids do that I get choked up. It takes confidence to do that and with that kind of confidence you can do anything. Win, lose or draw, they took a shot.