If one reliable yardstick for a politician, especially a newcomer, is the blend of crowds he attracts, Scott Wyant’s Sunday afternoon launch party in his run for the City Council can be stamped successful.
There on the Lindblade Avenue front lawn of Jim and Diana Solomon stood a man who usually is scarce at such events. He was the last doctor to serve on the School Board until Dr. Kelly Kent’s election a month ago.
Dr. Dana Russell, who retired from the Board six years ago, almost to the day, has not often been seen at public events in the interim.
This suggests that the candidate Mr. Wyant is a special attraction. “I am here to support Scott because of his involvement in the Ed(ucation) Foundation,” Dr. Russell said.
“Scott was a very active participant, and my wife (Marci) thinks he is a good guy.”
As for familiar faces roaming the busy setting, the same three members of the City Council who last Sunday endorsed Goran Eriksson – also a political freshman — for one of the three seats, returned yesterday to salute Mr. Wyant.
Vice Mayor Andy Weissman, Jim Clarke and Jeff Cooper contributed their political heft to the launching. The fourth person on the dais, Mayor Mehaul O’Leary, has not been seen in a campaign setting while the fifth Councilperson, Meghan Sahli-Wells, the lone incumbent, is running for reelection.
Fending off joking cracks from Mr. Clarke about continuing his “farewell tour,” Mr. Weissman, who is being term-limited along with the mayor, emphasized that 60 percent of City Council seats could change hands.
“We are on the cusp of change,” he said. “I am proud of what the City Council has achieved over the past eight years. But significant challenges continue to confront us.
“Not to put too fine a point on it, those we elect to the City Council in April will determine the path our future will take.
“We want a Council member who will take the time to study and consider all sides of an issue,” Mr. Weissman said. “That is Scott Wyant. As Scott has shown in nearly eight years on the Planning Commission, he listens, he analyzes, questions and balances. In the end, he makes decisions in the best interests of Culver City.”
That would serve as a standard Opening Day endorsement by a departing seatholder – except that Mr. Weissman’s closing analysis of Mr. Wyant’s fairness, reflectiveness and loyalty to thoroughly examining all sides before deciding, has been made by numerous observers of the candidate.
Some persons who turned out admitted they were drawn by the unified force of the Weissman-Cooper-Clarke endorsement.
“I am here,” Mr. Clarke said, “because Scott has demonstrated strong leadership on the Planning Commission. Since the recession, we have had a lot of controversial development projects here in the city. The Planning Commission is the group that digs into the heart of these issues and answers all of the difficult questions.”
Mr. Clarke said that “the Commission’s work has made our job on the City Council a lot easier. Scott asks good questions. He is willing to listen to both sides. At the end, he is willing to make a difficult decision. That is what I am looking for in a Council member.”
