 Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger, right, with President David Mielke of the Teachers Union, receive the union’s endorsement for re-election this week. See garyforculvercity@yahoo.com or www.garyforculvercity.org. |
How Will His Dream Turn Out?
Two helpful clues about an idealistic homegrown boy who may become the next police chief of Culver City this month: A stickler for straight-line orderliness in every room of his life, he is the rare single gentleman who knows three days in advance exactly the clothes he will be wearing to the office. From his girlfriend to his pals at work, he is known for being fastidious, sartorially impeccable.
His favorite reading matter is not this hour’s best-seller or a fictionalized thriller. It is Money magazine. Has been for years. Fascinated by the volatile intricacies of the stock market ever since a speaker came to Culver City High School back in the 1970s, he loves the tickle of challenges — and the plush rewards —that await smart players in the exotic world of investments.
Capt. Scott Bixby, who celebrated his twenty-sixth anniversary with the Police Dept. in January, is in the quarter-final round of fourteen candidates to succeed the retired Chief John Montanio.
On Monday, the City Council is scheduled to huddle with the Bob Murray headhunting company from Northern California to winnow the list to six.
In a little more than two weeks, the field is to be shrunk to the Final Two.
Culver City, Recreational Vehicle Capital
|
In addition to a legend at the top declaring “Culver City, Recreational Vehicle Capital,” a line below it reads, “Look for Me on a Street Near You.”
|
Next Candidates Forum Will Be Fun
Chip Netzel made the community a promise this morning:
The next Candidates Forum, Tuesday night at 7:30 in the Sunkist Park neighborhood, is going to be roaring with fun.
And brimming with surprises he cannot yet disclose.
As president of the Sunset Park Neighborhood Watch, Mr. Netzel said that festivities will start exactly on time in the spacious auditorium of El Marino School.
Insiders View of the School Board
Part I of a series
Frequently charged with petty bickering, incivil snarling, ill motivation and spectacular non-productivity, the School Board is getting a bad rap, says Marla Wolkowitz, one of its least controversial members.
“Despite the way we are portrayed, we do get along,” she said. “If you study the documentation, we achieve a lot. We are called dysfunctional, but we vote five to nothing on ‘most everything.”
Some of the School Board’s reputation for negativity is unavoidable, according to Ms. Wolkowitz, who recently started her seventh year on the Board. “Part of the image of any elected body is negative,” she said. “That is just the way it is.”
For a further explanation, those aren’t five blushing, bashful young things occupying the semi-circled chairs of the School Board every other Tuesday night. “We are five people with big egos,” she said. “I never would say I don’t have one. We deal with our egos in very different ways.”
Everybody to the Woodshed
May I suggest to Saundra Davis, the harassed president of the meddlesome School Board, that she show up at the next meeting, one week from Tuesday, dressed like Emmett Kelly, the most famous clown in the last half of the twentieth century.
Then, starting with our friendly dentist, Dr. Dana Russell, let us see if these dedicated curmudgeons are capable of baby grins.
Maybe they don’t smile at Board meetings because they need classy ol’ Doc Russell to give their dentures a Wal-Mart-style cleaning.
Three Endorsements for OLeary
 Officer Jim Raetz, left, immediate past president of the Police Union, with candidate Mehaul O’Leary at the Policemen’s Ball. |
City Council candidate Mehaul O’Leary has most recently been endorsed by the Police Union, the Fire Union and the Teachers Union.
Candidates Told to Sit, Stand, March or Else
In the most bizarre twist yet to the election season, the three City Council candidates were reduced to bit players, mere scenery, at the latest Candidates Forum on Tuesday night.
Instead of spotlighting their messages and the distinctions in their views, they were ordered — yes, ordered — to play a game, Beat the Clock.
Their responses to questions were strictly secondary to rush-rushing to beat an old alarm clock that must have been rented from a 99-Cent Store. The clock, which may not have had hands, was slightly less reliable than a drunken octopus getting his nails done.
By the careful observation of a neutral party, the time was kept wildly unevenly. “Thirty seconds to go” often meant the speaker had fifteen to eighteen seconds. The thirty-second sign was displayed almost recklessly during responses, at the forty, fifty and fifty-five-second marks and in between. No one was treated more favorably than anyone else. All participants were victimized.
Vera Unveils His New RV Plan
The day after ramming through a month-long delay in the recreational vehicle street-parking ordinance, Mayor Albert Vera sprang one more sweet surprise on RV owners.
As if owners were not perked up enough by the news from Monday night that they have an extra thirty days to figure out where to park their behemoths, the well-connected mayor explained his newest strategy.
He is working with the veteran South Bay Congresswoman Jane Harman on finding vacant land where the distressed RV owners can store their vehicles.
Ms. Harman is known for her environmental sensitivities, and together they are pursuing real estate opportunities.
Restaurants Endorse OLeary
With Lynne Davidson of Tito’s Tacos Mexican restaurant championing his cause, City Council candidate Mehaul O’Leary has won the endorsement of the California Restaurant Assn.
Ms. Davidson, a member of the CRA board, and Tito’s Tacos will host a fundraiser for the candidate on Monday, March 13, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Tito’s Tacos Commissary, 8906 Lindblade Ave.
Tony P’s Dockside Grill, Junior’s Deli and Marmalade Cafes will supply food along with Tito’s.
The official support is special, Mr. O’Leary said, because the one-hundred-year-old CRA typically restricts its endorsements to candidates for statewide office.
Portraying himself as a sound businessman, the owner of Joxer Daly’s Irish Pub said that “successful restaurateurs know what it is like to meet a balanced budget and to deal with complicated regulatory issues. I plan to bring an evenhanded business-like approach to Culver City.”