Part 2
Re “A Matching Pair at the Kickoff — Chardiet and High-Octane Energy”
[img]1207|left|||no_popup[/img]Seen and heard at School Board candidate Laura Chardiet’s inaugural campaign event on Sunday:
City Councilman Jeff Cooper is a seldom-spoken man of relatively few words, even in enthusiastically lending his endorsement to School Board candidate Laura Chardiet.
“I have only known Laura for several months,” he said. “But after meeting with her one time, sitting down with her for an hour, I was impressed enough to automatically lend my support.
“I am so impressed by her energy, her knowledge, her drive to a good job and her belief in the schools here in Culver City”…
Kathy Paspalis, first-term School Board member:
“Laura would be a fabulous addition to the School Board. She is smart, has a vested interest in the future of the district (with two children in school). She has a lot of experience in education, she knows how to run a budget. She knows the ins and outs of the PTA Council. She has been a teacher, and now she is an administrator. She has all the credentials we could ever ask for. She is an excellent thinker”…
Having run a successful campaign two years ago, Ms. Paspalis was asked what advice she would relay. She looked at her inquisitor warily. “If I tell you,” she said with a wry smile, “the whole world will know.”
Safari-outfitted former Mayor Alan Corlin, tall as he ever was while in office, was standing next to the diminutive Ms. Paspalis, and he nearly caused an eclipse of the late-afternoon sun.
Overhearing the end of the Paspalis interview about tactics and strategy, he typically cracked:
“Tell her she just needs one more vote than the third-place finisher.”
“Alan’s brilliant with the math,” Ms.Paspalis fired back.
And then it was Mr. Corlin’s turn to rate Ms. Chardiet.
“The School Board is an integral part of the city,” he said. “Very much of the value of the city is wrapped up in our students and teachers.
“We need another person on the Board who is truly independent, not beholden to anybody but the students and the parents.
“You can’t have on the Board people who have been intimately involved with the administration and expect to get, in my opinion, a good outcome.
“There is an orchestra that does not have conductors. They let all of the musicians keep their own time.
“When you go to their concerts, you can tell it is not quite the same as having a good leader.
“This is what we need, good leaders, somebody bright, independent with a vested interest.
“I am backing (incumbent) Scott Zeidman and Laura in this campaign to really represent our community.”
Same question for the two-term former City Councilman — since this is Ms. Chardiet’s first campaign and you are 2-for-2, what would you advise her?
“I would tell her to run with an energy as if she were in last place,” Mr. Corlin said.
“You have to run with a certain amount of desperation. It’s mental. You have to tell yourself every morning when you get up, ‘No matter what is going on, no matter how many people say they are voting for me, I have to knock on more doors, go more miles, think about more things, speak to more people than anybody else.’
“And you have to do that every day”…
(To be continued)
