Gamble Was No Gamble, but a Known Quantity

Now the hard work begins for Carol Gamble. A couple of interviews and some paperwork were minor, compared with what she has in front of her now that she has replaced Gary Thompson as council member on the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council.

"I feel like I can finish what I started," she said afterward, referring to her decision in 2004 to resign from the council to care for her ailing parents.

During her first interview before the council, Gamble became emotional while relating a story about leaving the hospital bedside of her father in order to attend a meeting simply so the council could have quorum. It was during the drive to that meeting that she realized she needed to make the difficult decision to step away from public civic duty in 2004.

She had been part of the RSM Cityhood Committee and finished second to Debra Lewis in the inaugural council election among 14 candidates 1999. While councilwoman, Gamble was the city's first mayor pro tem when RSM became a city in 2000 and the following year became its second mayor.

She is head of C.A. Gamble and Associates, a consultant engineering firm that designs high-level security, fire/life safety and building automation and controls for commercial properties.

"I think there’s a tremendous number of great candidates," Gamble said Wednesday night. "The defining difference is that I have the direct experience. I have done this job successfully. I’ve built the city. Those are unique and unequaled experiences. I know intimately what I brought to the table, but certainly that didn’t mean others didn't bring fantastic qualities also."

She stumbled over some of the words while taking the oath of office administered by City Clerk Molly McLaughlin and struggled a bit with a microphone after sitting between Mayor Tony Beall and the empty seat of Jesse Petrilla, joking, "Who built this?" knowing that she played a major role in building the council chambers in which she sat.

During the interview process, each of the 12 candidates from among the 21 who originally applied was asked about his or her vision for the city. Gamble said Wednesday her vision over the next 18 months—until the position comes up for special election—hasn't a lot to do with new parks and sparkle on city streets.

"We had a lot of negativity in this exchange," she said. "I think public discourse is very important. That’s why I worked for nine years to have this place, this opportunity, for self-governance and expression, but there has been rancor and negativity that I’ve never seen before in this city. It’s intensely saddening to me. My No. 1 priority is to get all that energy somehow channeled into positive energy for this extremely precious community. We are much better than that. We deserve better than that."

Her new colleague, Steve Baric, had not included Gamble on his list of top 3 candidates, but he voted for her after Jerry Holloway made a motion to accept her as the new council member and Beall seconded.

Gamble acknowledged the gesture.

"I think the council realized that it needed to come to an end," Gamble said of Baric's comments. "He chose to support someone who would help the process come to an end positively."

One of the interested observers was Thompson, who was present in the audience Wednesday. He said he was pleased with the outcome.

"I think the council has done, in reality, what's best for the city," Thompson said. "From a personal standpoint, I think Carol is most representative of my values and how I approached my job as a councilman before. It’s refreshing to see that that was done."