The Woman in the Middle (San Pedro Today Cover Story)

On a December morning in San Pedro, Elise Swanson starts her day the way she always does: coffee from Sirens, then a walk across Mesa to her Chamber of Commerce office on 7th Street. She never knows who will call today. It could be someone asking about a broken streetlight. It could be a new business owner seeking help reviewing a lease. It could be an upset member threatening to drop their membership. Once, years ago, it was an email containing a death threat, which she turned over to the LAPD and then went back to work.

When San Pedro Today asked me to write a profile of the Chamber of Commerce president, I thought, "Great, a puff piece about networking breakfasts." Instead, I found a story about impossible balancing acts: growth versus character preservation, affordable housing versus property values, big box chains versus local small businesses. About what it costs to hold a small town together when everyone wants different things. And about a woman who's been doing that work—through hostile crowds, death threats, and personal sacrifice—for 11.5 years. It was, in short, a far more interesting story than I expected.

Read the full story at San Pedro Today →

Photography by John Mattera