Margie Rice
By Jacob Wilson/Garden Grove Journal
Don’t call it a retirement.
Mayor Margie Rice presided over her last Westminster City Council meeting Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean she’s going away.
“I will not fade away,” Rice said. “I will be active and I will still voice my opinion.”
With a light agenda, it was mostly a night for city and county officials to honor the six-term mayor.
Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen presented Rice with a framed proclamation.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for the city of Westminster and particularly for the Vietnamese-American community,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen praised Rice for her persistence and for always putting city needs first.
“I know when Mayor Rice is upset, and I know when she wants something for her city,” Nguyen said. “But what you do at the end of the day is for the people of Westminster,”
Councilmember Andy Quach, now the longest-tenured member of the council, presented Rice with a commemorative clock, representing her time in public service.
“The city has been fortunate to have you as the glue that holds everything together,” Quach said. “I am very positive you will still be a permanent fixture as the city moves forward.”
Rice deferred all compliments to the council.
“There’s no way I could have done anything without the support of the council,” Rice said. “This council is the best council this city has ever had.”
She also said she was looking forward to the city’s new leadership.
“I treasure the years I had as mayor, but I think I stayed a little too long,” Rice said. “It’s time to give other people a chance.”
Rice was a city councilmember from 1994 to 2000. Before that she was a Westminster School District Trustee for 17 years. She has also been on the board of the Midway City Sanitation District for the past 22 years.
Now Rice’s main focus will be her family, especially her grandchildren, and she will still volunteer and advocate for the Westminster Rose Center and the newly-christened “Margie L. Rice Rose Center Theater.”
Westminster Community Services Director Diana Dobbert presented Rice a plaque bearing the new name.
