[img]493|right|Karlo Silbiger||no_popup[/img]Until last Tuesday’s startling School Board election, Karlo Silbiger, who grew up as Culver City’s No. 1 political protege, had expected to gallop into this evening’s meeting of the Culver City Democratic Club on his regular white victory steed.
The automatic rounds of congratulatory hugs and handshakes would begin on cue, and the world order would remain undisturbed.
At 30, the congenial educator has only known victory – every challenge has been followed by an impressive conquest. The Democratic Club has been the scene of favorite victories for him.
No serious person ever believed that defeat was healthy for himself.
And so the strange feelings that have been coursing through Mr. Silbiger for the past eight days will require significant psychological adjustments. Waking up every morning out of a community job for the first time surely is painful. Whether it will serve as an instructive interlude is to be determined.
It can be argued which is more hurtful, losing by a whisker or – as happened – being thoroughly repudiated, miles out of contention.
You go to bed each night thinking “voters don’t love me any more.”
They did not edge.
Ballot counting scarcely could have made the rejection clearer, as George Laase notes nearby in an essay.
Being an incumbent made the pill more unpalatable to gargle. Incumbents are not supposed to lose – outside of Culver City.
In the last School Board election two years ago, Scott Zeidman became the first Board incumbent this century to lose. Now it has happened back to back.
On the City Council side, incumbent defeats are even rarer.
Last time was 11 years ago when David Hauptman said, “I think I will run again,” Said the voters: “Bad idea.” Instead, they chose Albert Vera and Gary Silbiger.
