Wiley as he ever was during his eight years on the City Council, former Mayor Alan Corlin this afternoon gave his successors on the Council a free lesson in political gamesmanship.
Always saying what he means, even when he bobs and weaves, the newly privatized citizen softens the blunt edges without sacrificing any candor.
More than all five present Council members rolled together, he knows the hometown-animal-control-officer issue better than almost anyone.
He wrestled with it several times while on the Council.
Stung by criticism this week of his role in past debates on the subject, Mr. Corlin fired back.
“For someone to say, publicly or privately, that I never wanted an animal control officer is stating a falsehood,” he said. “What I wanted was fiscally responsible animal control.”
The Subject Is Toes
Navigating the sometimes-but-not-always nuanced byways of political rhetoric, he deftly stepped on a few toes without stubbing his own — with a special critique directed toward the group that has been driving the issue, Culver City Friends of Animals.
What does Mr. Corlin think of what happened last Monday night when the divided City Council approved, by 3 to 2, the hiring of a Culver City animal control officer under the constraints of a 2-year pilot program?
“I am both pleased and surprised the animal control officer issue has been ratified,” he said. “But I am concerned about any new city project being voted on before even the most rudimentary cost factors are known.”
The dissenting Councilmen, Mayor Scott Malsin and Andy Weissman, criticized proponents for assertedly rushing the item through the approval process before any cost factors had been determined.
O’Leary’s Idea
Overriding the wishes of the Council’s strongest advocates who wanted to immediately establish an open-ended, permanent officer position, freshman Council member Mehaul O’Leary suggested a pilot program instead.
Mr. Corlin praised Mr. O’Leary’s creativity.
“In my opinion, the idea of a trial 24-month project is both interesting and, as far as I know, it has not hitherto been thought of,” the former mayor said.
Mr. Corlin wants to make sure there is an exit strategy from the commitment, and he said he would use dog licensing as a barometer.
Where Is the Door?
Of an estimated 5,000 dogs in Culver City, 1,763 presently are licensed.
“My only suggestion,” Mr. Corlin said, “before emotions get any higher, is to figure the appropriate exit points. I would say that at the end of 2 years, if we don’t have more than 4,000 dogs licensed, we have to give up this program.”
He abjured the City Council to act promptly. “Now is the time to figure out the numbers, not at the end,” Mr. Corlin said.
Since canvassing the community would be the main responsibility of the animal control officer, he posed a provocative question:
Do the Numbers Square?
Why are so few Culver City dogs presently licensed since the aggressor for hometown animal control, Culver City Friends of Animals, boasts of 2,000 members, all law-abiding pet owners presumably?
“My most ardent hope,” Mr. Corlin said, “is that animal control can be brought to heel at a cost to the people of Culver City that won’t keep them from having pets because of expense.”
By that, he meant that the city of Hawthorne, “which is being held up as a model for Culver City, has 5,000 dogs licensed,. This adds up to about $240,000. But the city of Hawthorne has had to kick in another $250,000 to make animal control a viable program. This has run the cost up to a half-million dollars,” almost five times the cost that City Hall is budgeting.
Finally, there is the critical matter of Culver City not having a shelter, and not likely to acquire one for a number of years.
A Home for Animals
Mr. Corlin said when he and Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger were on the Animal Control Subcommittee, “the city of Santa Monica and the city of Hawthorne sent representatives to our meeting. They told us that to have animal control without a shelter was a waste.”
By contract with the County, Culver City utilizes the much-criticized shelter in Carson, 17 miles away, and that is not expected to change anytime soon.
“It is my hope,” Mr. Corlin said, “that the new Council can prove them wrong.”
