First in a series. 

Ten months after winning elective office on his first try, City Councilman Thomas Small has shot to the top tier of thoughtful, reflective hometown politicians in Southern California.

While it is no surprise that he will endorse the bandied-about sanctuary city label for Culver City at the March 27 meeting, the real story is how he arrived at his finish line – a typical process for him.

Especially in this type of provocative setting that involves more buzzwords than definitions, Mr. Small’s instinct is to tread the paths of wisdom-seekers.

He consults others, especially voices outside of his parochial circle.  He drives straight to the core.

“I had a meeting last week,” said Mr. Small, “with two state Assemblymen, Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) and Evan Low (D-Oakland).

“They are heading up the sanctuary state movement, which should be happening this summer.”

Both Assembly members, not coincidentally, are Asian.

Like Mr. Small, Mr. Bonta, assistant speaker pro-tem of the Assembly, is Filipino-American, the first of his ethnicity to be elected to the state Legislature. Mr. Low is Chinese.

“Meeting with them clarified a lot of questions for me about the current status of the sanctuary movement,” Mr. Small said.

“There is a lot of confusion about what a sanctuary city means.”

Like millions of Californians, Councilman Small is fretting about President Trump’s next unpredictable move and the potentially devastating financial losses that could train-wreck the state economy.

“There are so many questions about what federal funds could be retracted from us,” said Mr. Small.

The Councilman is confident that Sacramento is going to push back hard against whatever President Trump decides.

“When Sacramento addresses the issue of California becoming a sanctuary state, the state is going to step up to the plate, as is the city of Los Angeles with Mayor Garcetti.”

(To be continued)