Donovan to challenge H.B. city clerk for position

A Huntington Beach man running for city clerk says he wants to be the “eyes and ears” of the city.

“Nobody’s got a better job at doing that than the city clerk,” said Kevin Donovan, a lifelong resident who is running for the position for the first time.

The 50-year-old former construction worker and limousine driver said he would like to take a different approach to the role, whose main responsibilities are attending council meetings, preparing meeting agendas and minutes, keeping legislative records, contracts and official bonds, serving as custodian of the city seal, overseeing elections, managing records and certifying records.

When asked about how he would balance all the responsibilities of the job — former City Clerk Joan Flynn said she had to be on call at all times — Donovan, who holds a business administration degree from Cal State Long Beach, maintains he will dedicate his time to the job.

Though it doesn’t relate to the clerk’s role, Donovan has been particularly critical on social media of Huntington Beach Hospital, where his wife died last year. He said he spends up to 40 hours a week researching what happened.

He is the only candidate running against City Clerk Robin Estanislau, who was appointed to the position in June after longtime City Clerk Joan Flynn retired.

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FOR THE RECORD

August 18, 1:30 p.m.: A previous version of this story identified Robin Estanislau as the interim city clerk. She was appointed to the position in June.

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Donovan had planned to run for city clerk alongside the City Council campaign of his 20-year-old son, Aleksandr Donovan, who pulled papers for the role. On Monday, however, Aleksandr suspended his campaign and will not be running in November.

brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey