Re “Laase as Nauseum”
Jay Handal suggests that I am somehow envious of Scott Malsin’s earned or inherited wealth. He sees my sharp criticism of Mr. Malsin’s decision of last December to leave the City Council as having turned into a personal hatred of him. I don’t hate Scott Malsin. I don’t hate rich people. Heck, some of my best friends are rich!
I just don’t think he deserves to sit on our City Council ever again.
Is Life Fair?
The way I see it, some people are born living the American Dream. Some work hard all our lives to obtain and keep it. Is this fair? Only God knows that answer.
A Promissory Note
Mr. Handal talked about “a promise” being given to Mr. Malsin when he was elected. What “promise” was that? Who “promised” Mr. Malsin healthcare for life? Certainly not the voters. Sure, the city policy was in place when he was elected. Things change. There are no guarantees in life.
A Little Local History
It seems for the first 50 years of Culver City, retired city leaders didn’t receive lifetime benefits. That changed in the 1970s when a Council decided, with little public discussion, that when they retired, they and succeeding Council members deserved a lifetime perk.
Up for Discussion
This is not the first time retired Council members’ lifetime benefits have come up for discussion. When Steve Gourley was on the Council in the 1990s, he teamed with Jim Boulgarides to try and rescind lifetime benefits for retired members. They could not convince a third member to agree.
Later, when he was elected to the School Board, Mr. Gourley declined healthcare coverage, except for the District’s dental plan, which was better than the coverage he had.
The Best Laid Plans
Maybe the goal of lifetime healthcare was part of Mr. Malsin’s initial equation, making it worth his while to run for Council in the first place. When things changed, as they so often do in life, he figured out a way to still get that good, long-term return he was expecting from his relatively short-term investment of six to eight years on the Council. By his decision of last December, I would guess, he thought he was entitled to receive this benefit, that it was rightfully his when he won re-election?
Mick Jagger as Sage
I think the Rolling Stones said it best with, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” I guess that is true for most of us. Unless you are Mr. Malsin and can finagle a way to still get what he seemed to want all along; even if it involves doing the unprecedented, like abandoning his elected office for a lifetime of monetary gain.
Lowered Expectations
Resigning from an elected office for some lifetime advantage is something I would expect from a career politician, like a County Supervisor or Los Angeles City Council member, but not one of our own, not in our small town, especially not when our city is being fiscally hammered by the state.
School Board Benefits
Since Mr. Handal brought it up, let’s talk about School Board benefits. I know a thing or two about the subject. At one time, our local School Board was taking almost $70K in District-paid healthcare benefits. In reaction to the state legislature’s continued cuts to our children’s K-12 education and state funding deferrals adding up year after year, the new, more responsible members who followed continued to cut their coverage as much as they could. The members have personally cut their District-paid coverage to the point that in the District’s latest quarterly report on Board compensation, it was paying less than $17,000 for members’ benefits. That’s over a 70 percent decrease.
Better Look Elsewhere
I suggest Mr. Handal turn his sights elsewhere. He is not going to find much waste by calling out School Board members on their benefits. It may sound good, but I think our Board, as a whole, has done a remarkable job in keeping the District cost of their individual benefits down to the barest of minimums.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
