Jim Clarke, the veteran City Councilman, settled in to analyze yesterday morning’s performances by the seven Council candidates at the Chamber of Commerce’s first-in-the-city election forum.
He dived in with candor.
Mr. Clarke said that Meghan Sahli Wells, the only incumbent in the race, and Goran Eriksson are “the two most qualified candidates.
“Unfortunately, Goran didn’t come across very well. It was obvious he was nervous. He used a lot of words without saying much. I think he will do well because the Chamber board knows him. He was not at his best. But he has a great amount of experience because of his work with the Finance Advisory Committee.”
Mr. Clarke found “clear distinctions between the candidates, their level of understanding of the issues and their preparedness,” Mr. Clarke said.
“Three clearly did the best job – Thomas Small, Scott Wyant and Marcus Tiggs.
“First of all, they were relaxed. They didn’t come across as nervous. They sounded confident. They knew the issues.
Identifying Strengths
“Each in his own way staked out a little different approach, based on their backgrounds.
“Scott emphasized technology and his work on the Planning Commission. He talked about the need for technology and communications. That was kind of funny because while he was speaking, there was a malfunction with his microphone.”
As for Mr. Small, from a background in architecture and the Cultural Affairs Commission, Councilman Clarke said that “he asked, ‘What do we do to promote the creative economy in Culver City? What can we do on the various developments that are happening? How can we get them to work all together to try and improve transportation access, parking?’
“Scott works out of his home. He said business is not just about Sony and Symantec. We have a large percentage of people who work out of their homes. So how do we integrate the commercial and residential when, in fact, sometimes the commercial is right there in the residential?”
Mr. Clarke kept rolling with his sizeups.
“Marcus Tiggs’s background is a bankruptcy lawyer and he served on the Planning Commission. He talked about his understanding of the business community.”
Mr. Clarke said that while Daniel Lee “did a nice job,” he “did not need to say at the end that he won’t get the Chamber’s endorsement.”
The Councilman approached Mr. Lee afterward and told him that while he has endorsed other candidates, he wishes Mr. Lee well in the next 69 days.
Mr. Clarke added this coda:
“If the election does not work out for you, I would be happy to recommend you to serve on the Centennial Committee board,” which Mr. Clarke leads.
