First of two parts

As Jeff Cooper opens his second stroll down Culver City’s Mayoralty Lane, one of his favorite predecessors was asked how he would counsel Mr. Cooper.

“Doesn’t need my advice,” protested former Mayor Andy Weissman, term-limited a year ago. “He has been there.”

When Mr. Weissman, who also served two mayoral terms, was prevailed upon, he said:

“The mayor should pay attention to critical issues facing the city and not get distracted.”

There probably is not anyone in Culver City who studies and understands the state of the community as the Downtown lawyer.

“The city is facing extraordinarily significant financial issues,” he said. “If they are not dealt with meaningfully and relatively quickly, they will dramatically impact the quality of life in Culver City.”

Specifically, he said, “we have been told by CalPers (public employees’ pension fund) that it has recalculated the investment return it had projected. The consequence is that all cities are going to have to pay more on a go-forward basis for retiree pension and medical than previously was thought to be the case.”

Mr. Weissman pegged the number “in the millions of additional dollars a year – millions that we had not heretofore budgeted for.”

He labeled the predicament as “an issue of extreme criticality” before identifying more challenges that are imminent.

(To be continued)