Mayor Andrew Sarega has announced his resignation from the La Mirada City Council after 11 years of service.

Mayor Sarega was serving his third term on the City Council. He was first elected to the City Council on March 5, 2013 and re-elected on March 7, 2017 and June 7, 2022. He served as Mayor Pro Tem from July 2023 to April 2024 and was recently selected as Mayor on April 9.

His resignation is effective May 8, 2024, meaning he will have served 30 days in his only term as Mayor.

“I am grateful to the residents of La Mirada for allowing me to serve on the City Council during the past 11 years,” says Mayor Sarega in the city's press release. “I have enjoyed being able to represent our community and consider the experience to be a tremendous honor.”

During Mayor Sarega’s service on the Council, La Mirada continued to be among the region’s safest and most financially sound cities. La Mirada was twice-named Los Angeles County’s “Most Business-Friendly City” by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation in 2013 and 2019. New programs and events were added including the weekly Farmers Market at the Civic Center, Community Gardens at Frontier Park, and Santa’s Caravan, which launched last December.

When contacted by the La Mirada Blog Sarega told us the decision is relatively new, "Recently, my wife Susan and I have had discussions about pursuing other opportunities, some that require us to move out of La Mirada." Sarega indicated there is a possibility of him running for a seat in another city. 

Multiple sources have told the La Mirada Blog Sarega will be running for a seat on the Anaheim City Council.

The City has also completed many significant capital improvement projects over the past 11 years including the rehabilitation of most neighborhood streets; new playgrounds at all City parks; opening of the Courtyard Café and new auditorium seating and sound system at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts; installation of the six-lane mat racer waterslide and two aquabtube slides at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center; and median landscaping improvements on La Mirada Boulevard, Rosecrans Avenue, and Valley View Avenue, among others.

Numerous energy efficiency improvements to City facilities were also completed or are in progress including new sports field lighting at Behringer Park and Los Coyotes Athletic Fields, HVAC and LED lighting improvements at all City facilities, and the placement of solar carport structures and EV charging stations in the Civic Center.

Mayor Sarega also served on the City Council during the completion of the Valley View Avenue/BNSF Railway Grade Separation and I-5 Freeway Expansion. Both projects have relieved traffic delays previously experienced by La Mirada motorists.

Mayor Sarega was active in representing La Mirada on the boards of regional agencies. He has served as an Executive Board Member with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, Executive Board Member with California Contract Cities Association, Policy Committee Member with the League of California Cities, and Regional Council Member with the Southern California Association of Governments.

Mayor Sarega’s last City Council meeting was on April 23, 2024.

There will be a reorganization of the council at the next scheduled meeting on May 14th in which a new mayor will be chosen. Also, council may address the issue of the eventual process of replacing Sarega in District 2.

Source: City of La Mirada with additions by Tony Aiello