Janet Turner Elected Council Chair

Janet Turner will begin leading the Pacific Palisades Community Council meetings on July 1, replacing chair Richard G. Cohen, who served two years. The Council elected Turner as chair for the one-year term at its June 10 meeting. She joined the Council in October 2006 as the representative of Area 3 (Marquez Knolls and Bel-Air Bay Club neighborhoods) and became vice chair last July. ‘In these difficult economic times, I believe it is important that the needs and concerns of Pacific Palisades not be ignored by the City of L.A.,’ Turner wrote in her candidate statement submitted to the Council. ‘As chair, I will be a vocal advocate for the Palisades, making sure that the Council’s decisions are heard, and lobbying for their implementation.’ A 16-year Marquez Knolls resident, Turner says that she will advocate the Council’s concerns regarding the regulation of cell-tower placement, street furniture, signage, the upcoming Hillside Manzionization Ordinance and new residential construction in town. In addition to the Council, Turner has served on the board of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association (MKPOA) since 2006. She and her husband, Daniel Helfgott, have their own television and movie production company, Helfgott-Turner Productions. Area 3 Representative Haldis Toppel will assume Turner’s role as vice chair. Toppel, a retiree who worked for the City of Los Angeles as an information system manager for 20 years, serves as the president of MKPOA. She acted as secretary of the Council from 2008-09. Cathy Russell, the Area 7 alternate (representing Rustic, Santa Monica, lower Rivas canyons and the Will Rogers area), will take over Steve Cron’s spot as secretary. Russell has served on the Council since 2006, first as the Area 7 representative, then as its alternate. While functioning as the representative, she served on the Sparkplug Committee for two years, the second as co-chair. Russell, who has lived in the Palisades for more than 30 years, works as a residential real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. Ted Mackie, owner of Palisades Bicycles, will continue to serve another term as treasurer. Mackie has been a member of the Council for 16 years and has spent the past 10 years overseeing the finances. All of the officers are elected for one-year terms. The chair and vice chair may not serve for more than two consecutive years, while there is no limit to the number of consecutive years the secretary and treasurer can serve.