[img]2661|right|Ed Little||no_popup[/img]Ed Little, one of the most enduring political figures in Culver City in the past 50 years, a prominent businessman deeply involved in civic matters, died on Saturday. The report arrived from Virginia, where Mr. Little had been making his home with his wife Helen since late spring.
Mr. Little, 87 years old, had been ill in recent months. Before moving east, he resided at Marycrest Manor where friends said he had been recuperating from surgery.
Widely known for numerous affiliations, one was that in 1951, Mr. Little founded Ed Little Auto Service, corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Wagner, and today it is operated by his son Bob
A member of the City Council, 1966-’70, Mr. Little joined the West Basin Municipal Water District a quarter-century ago, in 1989.
Culver City historian Julie Lugo Cerra said this morning that Mr. Little holds a unique distinction.
“The most significant part of his record in Culver City is that he is the only elected City Council member or trustee of the city who has gone on to serve in higher elective office (the Water Board),” Ms. Lugo Cerra said.
“He was a nice guy who was very appreciative of people. He saw things clearly.”
Another distinction: During Mr. Little’s four years on the Council, the present mayoral rotation system was not in place. The result: Dan Pattachia, for whom a room is named at City Hall, held the mayor’s office during Mr. Little’s term, and he never did become His Honor.
Florist Earl Eskridge, 87 years old and a peer of Mr. Little, described his friend as “a staunch member” of the Culver City Rotary Club.
He returned to the news three months ago when he resigned from the West Basin board pf directors on May 20 for reasons of health. In stories of the time, he was quoted as being severely critical of a board member who more recently was arrested on embezzlement charges.
In the final quarter of his life, Mr. Little most commonly was identified with water issues.
It was reported that he first became active in water issues when he worked to annex Culver City into the West Basin Metropolitan Water District service area in the early 1950s. From 1965 to 1967, he served on the County Resources and Reclamation Advisory Commission.
As a Councilman, Mr. Little was the city’s first representative to the newly formed SCAG, the Southern California Assn. of Governments.
He was active in .charitable and civic groups. He served on the Board of the Culver Palms YMCA for 15 years, and he once was president of the Rotary Club.
In 1965, Mr. Little was honored as Citizen of the Year by the the Culver City Chapter of Jewish War Veterans.
The Culver City Chamber of Commerce presented him with the 1992 Outstanding Business of the Year Award.
Mr. Little and his wife Helen both were widowed when they married. Together they had five children, eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren.
Plans for services are not known.
