Many regulars in the Culver City Democratic Club were eyewitnesses to PBS history, Pre-Britney Spears. If they were trees, they might be redwoods — with very generous trunks, a jeweler’s delight, lots of rings.
And so it is not yet clear whether the Democratic seniors will embrace or reject perhaps the meatiest moment of Mayor Alan Corlin’s first Farewell to the City address at Wednesday night’s meeting.
He rebuked them for not being interested in local politics. Instead, he said, they have dwelled on distant political universes, passionately casting votes that are fun but meaningless.
Selfish or Not?
A cranky Democrat might say the mayor spoke with a selfish motivation.
As a veteran club member, Mayor Corlin has been intimately invested in Culver City politics for much of the 20 years he has lived here.
During his eight years on the City Council, Mayor Corlin only remembers receiving two or three communiqués — the only indications of awareness — from the Democratic Club. They probably were not about anything monumental, he said.
Like a mother writing a letter to her son’s school class instead of directly to the boy himself, the Democratic Club bypassed its own member on the Council.
He has not forgotten that he was ignored..
Time to Change
Mayor Corlin, feeling at least bruised, complained that “I had to find out what was in the letters from others on the City Council.”
Mayor Corlin personalized his critique to make a first-time point with his fellow Democratic Club members.
His broader message was:
Communally speaking, you have isolated yourselves by becoming insular. Return to the purpose for which the club was organized:
Spread the gospel of the Democratic Party to Culver City households.
Figure out the club’s agenda on purely Culver City issues — redevelopment, eminent domain, light rail, traffic — think through the club’s positions, and publicize those stances.
Sunny and Warm
The front end of Mayor Corlin’s fast-paced, sun-splashed 50-minute address accented two themes, the permanently upgraded vibrancy of Culver City and the accomplishments of the Council, especially by the three members who will be term,-limited in April — Carol Gross, Steve Ross and the mayor.
Technologically and intellectually keen, an unusual blend, the mayor did not need to tell his listeners that every night he hears the clock ticking on his term in office, realizing that he has fewer than 90 days remaining.
Like an entertainer stepping onto the stage one more time, it was obvious how much he cherishes his City Hall platform.
Taller and more strapping than anyone else in the Rotunda Room at the Vets Auditorium, he was a painter at his easel, a writer with quill in hand, a man come home.
The Old Folks at Home
Speaking extemporaneously, he employed wide and vibrant strokes, later parrying a range of questions from the audience of several dozen in a purely folksy session.
“It is amazing to me,” Mayor Corlin said, “that eight years ago this month I stood up here and asked for your endorsement for my Council campaign.”
Never criticized for lacking confidence, the mayor said that “we have done a lot — restaurant grades, Music in the Chambers, Downtown is looking great, various redevelopment projects and all of the building on the Westside.
“There has been a lot of controversy, but it has been fun.”
Vets and Bye-Bye
Striking an appropriately ironic note, Mayor Corlin said that it is time for a new Vets Auditorium as part of a larger remake of the entire corner of Culver Boulevard and Overland.
The Vets is one of the mayor’s pet to-do projects, and has been since his first term on the City Council. “Nice as this building is, “ he said, “it is worn out.
“Culver City has a lot of changes that need to be made, which means there is a great deal for the new City Council to do.”
Mayor Corlin chafed over the observation that half a century ago, when Culver City was more provincial, it was easier to accomplish projects with alacrity.
Recalling Kronenthal
Alluding to one of the community’s heroic legends, the mayor said that when longtime Parks and Recreation guru Syd Kronenthal — still percolating in his mid-90s after a birthday last month — stood where he was standing in 1949, he had a vision.
Blindingly fast by contemporary standards, Mr. Kronenthal’s vision became the landmark Vets Auditorium.
“In just a year or two, this building was built,” said the mayor, amazed by the abbreviated timeline.
Expanding his view, the mayor said City Hall needs to develop “better relations” with Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.
Further, when County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke retires in June, and is replaced, likely, by either state Sen, Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City) or Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, “I hope the new Supervisor knows where Culver City is.”
Reasoning Behind National Search
Anticipating the departure of a number of department heads, Mayor Corlin reiterated his preference to conduct national searches for their replacements. In-house candidates will, of course, be considered, but “they can apply like anyone else,” he said. “We should cast the widest possible net, and that is why I prefer a national search.”
With three of the Council’s five members departing, Mayor Corlin characterized the transition as a relay race. “The new Council will pick up from us,” he said, “ the same way we did (in ’00) from the preceding Council.”
