Laguna Beach Votes in 2016: Your Neighbors at the Polls

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach on election day the mood in the air was festive if not thought provoking. All sides of election arguments were weighed, measured and discussed while waiting in the polling place lines outside of Unitarian Unity Church.

Orange County journalist Amy Spurgeon-Hoffman met with several residents getting their take on the wild ride to Nov. 8, how they voted and what they felt was most important about the 2016 election.

"I was most excited to vote for Hillary Clinton and help pave the way for every other woman who follows her. Hillary demonstrates hard work, experience, she works across the aisle and she is a wonderful listener. It would be amazing and I would love to go to her inauguration," Hudechek said. "As for Trump, I think he has woken up a large group of voters who feel they have not been heard. I think Trump makes our Allies across the world nervous because they are counting on American policies to be made with sound judgement, and no one really knows what he will do next from day to day and it's frightening. He's unpredictable. I wish him no ill will but America needs someone of good social values, and that is what Hillary brings. As for important proposition here in Laguna Beach, everyone here wants Proposition 64 (legalizing marijuana) to pass. It has a lot of medicinal value and is safer than a lot of prescription medicines. I am pretty sure Laguna Beach will help pass it."

85-year-old Laguna Beach resident Richard Drexelius, talked about his vote.

"I voted for President Trump!" Laguna Beach resident Richard Drexelius said. "I like his honesty. I am a U.S. Army Veteran and served in Europe post World War II during 1959-1961. I believe he will be a good leader. He doesn't lie."

"Voting for the Presidency was most important to me. I voted for Trump. I like his ideas. It would just be more of the same with Hillary. If Hillary wins I will live with it, but she is just so discredited. Look at Benghazi, and she has shared our secrets all over the world! I voted 'no' on Proposition 64 (legalizing marijuana). There are just too many variables with it such as we don't know enough about how it affects developing minds. I just really value the fact that we get to vote."

Scott Mitchell, 60, Laguna Beach

As for the Propositions, Mitchell discussed his most important issues.

"Legalizing marijuana (Proposition 64) and the increased hotel bed tax (Measure LL, Vital Services Measure), were important to me today," he said. "Reality TV has changed the tourism landscape here in Laguna Beach, and this measure will help raise funds to provide services for all of these extra visitors."

As voting lines continued steady into the Unitarian Unity hall, the mood of Laguna Beach was captured by resident Jill Tupper.

Jill Tupper, Laguna Beach

"The most important thing for me today is the Presidential race...should I say who I voted for??! Before I voted today I challenged everyone to vote from a place of peace on a video blog that I posted to my Facebook page. Regardless of who people are voting for, I was sending out a message of peace to our Country and to the world," Tupper said. "We all have such different levels of consciousness, education, experiences but this is what makes us such an incredible Country. If people can just shift all of this fear to peace, we can come together...otherwise we are landlocked and stuck. We need to have respect for each other and other people's choice to vote. Like Deepak Chopra says, 'We have to find peace within ourselves.' Shift fear to peace and learn to breathe with the waves of the ocean."

Amy Spurgeon Hoffman, Photos and Interviews