[img]2791|right|Stephen Murray||no_popup[/img]Walking and making telephone calls – ah, the life of a political candidate on the day before Election Day.
Culver City businessman/environmentalist Stephen Murray, in a three-way shoving match for the late Ed Little’s longtime seat on the West Basin Water District Board, interrupted his phone calling and door-to-door’ing in mid-afternoon to answer questions about what he was doing and how he was faring.
Since this was going to be the first and only later afternoon darkness of the campaign, Mr. Murray wanted to hurry and return to his calls after recording a robo call message, the better to reach more voters.
A former candidate for the City Council in Culver City, Mr. Murray earlier was a contender in Florida for a Congressional seat representing Orlando subsequently won by one of Washington’s most voluble Democrats, Alan Grayson.
How different is running for the Water Board from competing for the City Council?
“I don’t have as much time as I did when I was running for the City Council,” Mr. Murray said. “This is frustrating because there are a lot more people here in the Water Board’s district, and it is much more spread out. We cover Malibu, Topanga, Lennox, View Park, Western Hills, West Hollywood, Marina del Rey, El Segundo and Culver City of course.”
Up and Down, Down and Up
Once you solve the geographic puzzle, architectural and topographical challenges await a candidate.
“In some of those neighborhoods,” said Mr. Murray, “there are a lot of condos I can’t reach,” and then a groan may have been detected. “So many hills to walk,” he said. “There are a couple hills in Culver City, and I only walked one of them. It’s pretty difficult. I just can’t cover the whole territory walking.”
What is Mr. Murray’s temperature on Election Eve?
“I am not even thinking about who is going to win,” he said. “I am just following my campaign plan and not allowing myself to get tied up in emotions.”
