Laguna Woods has a new first. After voters elected an all-female City Council in 2024, the city now has its first Black mayor, a woman to boot.
Laguna Woods Village resident and Mayor Pro Tem Annie McCary took the helm on the dais in December, chosen by her colleagues to serve the next year leading the council.
Having grown up in the Jim Crow South, McCary said she “could not have imagined a moment like this.”
“Opportunities were limited and expectations were often set for us by others. What guided me then – and still does – is a deep belief in dignity, perseverance and service,” she said in an email.
“As a woman of color, I do recognize this moment is both significant and historic,” she added. “I stand on the shoulders of my family and those who came before me, and I am deeply grateful to this amazing community.”
For Councilmember Carol Moore, McCary’s appointment as mayor is important in other ways.
“Having an African American as mayor is significant for it exemplifies the diversity of the community,” Moore said. “Having qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds makes for more thoughtful policy.”
Councilmember and former Mayor Shari Horne took another approach.
“Yes, she’ll be the first African American mayor, but she’s a human being and a woman first and foremost,” Horne said. “I think she’ll bring all her life experiences to the role and make it her own, as we all do.”
McCary seemed almost destined to be where she is. Hers has been a life of service and leadership, starting in her youth as the 13th out of 16 children growing up on a farm, through her 30-year career in nursing.
McCary was born in 1954 in Plantersville, Alabama, a community not far from Selma. Segregation was the norm, although the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
“School integration did not happen until I was in seventh grade, and even then, all the ‘colored’ students sat on one side of the room, stayed with each other during lunch, drank from different fountains and rode home in separate buses from the White kids,” she recalled.
McCary’s life of service appears rooted in growing up on a farm with her large family: “We were taught responsibility early on for our siblings and the livestock.”
Her father, meanwhile, fostered positive self-awareness.
“My father told me that there is something in each of us that no one else can take away,” she recalled.
It was also then that McCary’s peeve against tardiness, procrastination and inability to make decisions took hold.
“Lives depended on me just as they did later in nursing, and I still insist on being on time – tardiness is a sign of disrespect,” she said.
In 1972, McCary graduated high school and found that opportunities for young Black women were stiflingly limited. At the suggestion of her brother John, she decided to become a nurse and moved to California to study.
“There were not a lot of options,” McCary said. “Nursing presented aspects of caring, of being of service, caring about life.”
The first one in her family to pursue higher education, she enrolled in Long Beach City College and earned her nursing degree at the Southern California branch of the University of Phoenix. She began her career as an epidemiology nurse and retired as a nurse practitioner.
McCary and her husband, Sidney Johnson, moved to Laguna Woods Village retirement community in 2014, after Johnson retired from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and McCary was wrapping up her nursing career. It was Johnson’s choice to move into a senior community and her challenge to adjust to it after having lived for decades in Long Beach.
“I had an ongoing commitment to service when I came to Laguna Woods, and I was trying to find myself,” she said. “I joined walking groups, mahjong and connected with neighbors.”
Around 2018, McCary volunteered as a receptionist at City Hall, then ran for and won seats on the Third Mutual board and then the City Council.
“With new opportunities opening up, I kept asking myself, why not try something new?” she said. “Running for City Council challenged me to find out how the city operates in contrast to homeowners associations. Another challenge was to be patient with myself and allow myself a learning curve.”
She is also the president of the African American Heritage Club and a trustee of the Village History Center.
McCary found advice and support in her prayer group at the Center for Spiritual Living, she said. She is a minister at the Church of Religious Science, a spiritual movement based on “The Universal Mind,” a belief system centered on worshipping God.
“I studied the world’s religions. For me, the core principles based on the science of the mind (connection, positive thought and affirming prayer) constitute healing and fulfilled lives,” she said. “It’s a fit for a nurse. We believe in the oneness of life.”
McCary is the mother of a son, who is a chef, and a daughter, who is a medical coder, and she’s a grandmother to one.
“For my family, this is huge,” she said of becoming mayor. “For my children and grandchildren and future great-grandchildren, this is a legacy.”
Several residents attended the transition at City Hall.
Larry Dickson, treasurer of the African American Heritage Club, expressed excitement, saying of McCary: “Everywhere you go, she’s there with consciousness and integrity. She’s the mayor for everybody.”
Sue Dearing praised McCary as an aware resident who rose through Laguna Woods Village leadership. “She listens, responds and takes action. Annie knew what it was like to be marginalized, and now she’s the first Black mayor of Laguna Woods.”
Rebeca Gilad, president of the Community Bridge Builders, wrote in an email: “Congratulations to Annie McCary, our new city mayor. Your historic leadership as a proud member of a minority community inspires hope, reflects the strength of a city’s diversity, and marks a powerful step toward a more inclusive future for all.”
McCary is working on her autobiography, which will emphasize her childhood in Alabama.
“My becoming a mayor will be the last chapter. For my family, I’ll be the ‘Honorable Mayor Annie,’” she said. “I have a love for life, for gratitude and a commitment to service.”
Hence then, the article about new mayor takes the gavel in laguna woods was published today ( ) and is available on The Orange County Register ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( New mayor takes the gavel in Laguna Woods )
Also on site :
- Cuban official accuses US of ‘piracy’ against sanctioned Caribbean island
- EU must stop funding Kiev after Zelensky’s ‘insults’ – Italian MP
- The One Florida Hotel Family Travel Advisors Book on Repeat—and It’s Not Disney