Persistence.
The descriptor was uttered often about Bill Brand, with more than a dozen speakers sharing stories about the beloved late Redondo Beach mayor at a public memorial on Sunday afternoon.
The two-hour-plus tribute, at Redondo Union High School’s auditorium, was attended by hundreds. And elegies were presented by family and friends, by city officials, by Los Angeles County electeds and by state lawmakers.
Whether it was a sibling sharing or a county supervisor, the theme was Brand’s brutal determination to fight for what he believed in — whether he was inviting someone to an event, taking the long way home along the coast or waging a political war against corporations.
Brand was described as charismatic, a catalyst for change, a “straight shooter,” a leader and a champion for residents of Redondo Beach.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, one of the final few regional officials to speak, described Brand as having a no-nonsense approach to government and an unabashed love for Redondo Beach.
“Mayors come and go,” said Hahn. “Supervisors come and go.” But sometimes, Hahn added, there’s a special public official that comes along that will be remembered for generations.
“Bill Brand was that man,” Hahn said. “And our collective hearts are broken.”
The fulcrum of the afternoon was widow Deirdre Brand’s teary and heartfelt memories. It was difficult, she said, to write something because there was just so much to describe about her husband of seven years and she couldn’t decide which part of his life to describe.
“And besides, what I was writing felt like an epilogue,” Deirdre said as she choked up. “But I want there to be a closing chapter.”
Deirdre apologized to anyone in town who her late husband had pestered to work on a task force or attend a meeting. When Bill had a bone in his mouth, she said, he just wouldn’t let go. After all, she reminded the crowd: “I lived with him.”
“God bless you, Bill,” Deirdre said as she motioned to the video image of him behind her. “You were a major pain, but, God, I loved you.”
Deirdre received a standing ovation from the crowd.
As she stood on stage, Jim Light, the city’s newly installed mayor and one of Brand’s best friends, kept her close while the two watched a video. Redondo Beach police officers and firefighters were shown bringing down the flag that had flown at half-staff since Brand’s death on Feb. 9. The officers folded the flag as is done for military veterans.
Then, Redondo Beach Police Chief Joe Hoffman and Fire Chief Patrick Butler entered stage right and brought the folded flag encased in a box to Deirdre.
City Manager Mike Wizansky presented the flag to her, saying “this flag is as much for you as it is for Bill.”
Those in attendance also heard from Mac Brand, Bill’s older brother by three years. He said perhaps it was a trip to Mac’s home in Chicago — where acres of Lakeshore Drive are taken up with public, open space — that kicked off Bill’s determination to preserve the Redondo Beach waterfront.
City officials who spoke — councilmembers Nils Nehrenheim, Todd Loewenstein and Zein Obagi, Jr., as well as City Attorney Mike Webb and Treasurer Eugene Solomon ” — all evoked the relentless advocacy Bill Brand did on behalf of the city.
Many times, speakers drew massive applause when Brand’s projects were mentioned: fighting condominiums during Heart of the City, opposing a waterfront mall with CenterCal, working to shut down the AES power plant and rallying for an alternative to the Metro C line right-of-way option.
Nehrenheim made reference to Bill Brand now transforming from “living to legacy.”
Solomon vowed, and most in the audience agreed with their applause, the final chapter on Bill Brand had yet to be written.
“The final pages are up to all of us,” Solomon said, adding, in true Bill Brand form everyone should ask themselves: “What is it I can do?”
It was Brand’s persistence, his call to activism that was contagious, said Hahn, in her elegy.
The supervisor teared up as she described how she felt about Brand. He reminded her of a lyric to song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran: “A heart that’s been broken is a heart that’s been loved,” she quoted.
“And,” Hahn said, “Bill loved us.”
