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Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon launched a “Minute with the Mayor” video series earlier this year, offering 60-second highlights of local businesses in Surf City on YouTube.
McKeon credited Kriss Casanova, the city’s economic development manager, with naming the series. Since its debut, over 50 Huntington Beach businesses have applied to be featured.
“I’m just trying to knock them out,” McKeon said during Thursday morning’s annual mayor’s breakfast. “I make a commitment. I’ll get to every single one. Last Friday, I filmed five. The two Fridays before, I filmed another five. So, we’ve got 15 in the can.”
Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon delivers opening remarks at the mayor’s breakfast held at the Lorea inside the Pasea Hotel & Spa on Thursday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
The event, hosted by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce at the Pasea Hotel & Spa near the beach, focused on business development.
The mayor’s breakfast included a business leaders panel moderated by McKeon, featuring Duke’s Huntington Beach general manager Ryan Clancy, Orlando Precision president Frank Mauro, Beef Palace Butcher Shop owner Calvin Free, and Pasea director of sales Michael Crockenberg.
“We know how safe it is, how clean it is, but some of the rhetoric around Huntington Beach is actually sometimes the opposite,” Crockenberg said. “We get a lot of people that inquire about coming here, and then we talk about the safety, we talk about the walkability. We talk about how clean it is.
“If you go out in the evening time and walk around — and we’ve actually had people decide not to come here because they’ve said they don’t feel comfortable and they don’t feel safe coming to Huntington Beach — and we know that is not the truth.”
Guests attend the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce’s mayor’s breakfast at the Lorea inside the Pasea Hotel & Spa on Thursday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Mayor McKeon noted that crime in Huntington Beach has dropped by more than 27% over the past three years, with homelessness also declining annually.
The event’s second panel featured McKeon, Huntington Beach city manager Travis Hopkins, Mike Daniel from the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center, and Paul Simonds of the Orange County Business Council.
Daniel highlighted that 95% of all businesses have fewer than 10 employees and generate less than $1 million in sales annually.
“How can we get them over that hurdle?” he asked. “That’s really where, I think, marketing comes into play … We want to give them all of the tools that exist. I think the great part about what we do is, if you’re a business that needs a team of consultants to help you, that’s what we’re here for.”
He added that funding for these services comes from federal, state, and various lenders, making it free for business owners.
Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon delivers opening remarks at the mayor’s breakfast at the Lorea inside the Pasea Hotel & Spa on Thursday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
The Streamline Surf City program, which includes 28 initiatives aimed at modernizing and simplifying the city’s permitting process, was recently recognized by the Orange County Business Council.
McKeon also highlighted the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations, noting the significance of the country’s 250th anniversary this year.
“Independence Day is on a Saturday,” he said. “The whole weekend, we’re going massive.”
