[img]1323|left|Stephen Murray||no_popup[/img]The suddenly more compelling and disparate City Council race took a leap forward today with the introduction of Stephen Murray, new father, as the sixth candidate in an unexpectedly busy field.
An energy consultant who has been closely monitoring City Hall politics from a sideline chair, Mr. Murray said that he means to win on April 10 against a mixed team of rivals. Unlike previous newcomers in recent elections, he insisted he is not merely running to compete.
“It is time for change,” he said, explaining that he is suggesting not just a switch of which bodies sit in which chairs but in the global way that City Hall thinks and governs.
“With the end of the Redevelopment Agency, we have an opportunity to move in a different direction. I want to help Culver City make that happen.”
A professionally committed environmentalist, Mr. Murray told the newspaper that “I believe strongly in the need for Culver City to be sustainable. I don’t mean just environmentally. Take, for example, the loss of the redevelopment fund. It looks like it is gone.
“The tendency of the City Council is to cry about that loss. But moving forward, you have to find a way to do without. We need to find new sources of revenue. I know that (Mayor) Mehaul (O’Leary) and (Councilman Andy) Weissman are working on this.
“And I know that (former Councilman) Scott (Malsin) sees this as a reason for him to run again.
“The way I perceive it, every couple of years, except for companies that do reorganization, the same things happen in cities with regard to direction. The environment changes. You have to change in order to survive in perpetuity.
“The same thing is happening in Culver City. I saw the letter to the editor about (candidate) Meghan (Sahli-Wells) complaining about her position on the Redevelopment Agency.”
In Mr. Murray’s view, the Redevelopment Agency is not necessary. “But we need something like that, even if we create it ourselves,” he said.
“We need to become more sustainable in ourselves. The gravy train is over. I am not going to say cost-cutting, but it is about being more efficient, finding better ways to do things.”
Mr. Murray’s political philosophy mirrors his professional duties as a residential energy consultant. “I show people how to make their houses more energy efficient,” he says.
“The work I do is sort of a metaphor for the change I am talking about.”
Mr. Murray may be contacted at stephen@murrayforculvercity.com
