On the last Tuesday of every April, Sadness and Joy clasp hands and stride down the center aisle of Council Chambers as the City Council, now formfully, flushes the past year’s mayor and, hewing closely to rules, elects a new one for the next 12 months.
Used to be a firefight – until the revised City Charter seven years ago wiped out the frequent heartaches and reliably accompanying drama.
More than one Councilman has left City Hall feeling like a spurned, richly unrewarded lover.
With theatrics subtracted from the equation, Andy Weissman, The Old, gracefully gave way to Jeff Cooper, The New, and it was an hour when both men galloped across the night skies in sync with their distinctly different personalities.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cooper’s unanimous elevation was followed by the 5-0 vote of second-year Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells to Vice Mayor, replacing Mr. Cooper.
On the dais, the coming year, under Mayor Cooper, shall not resemble the year that was under Mayor Weissman.
On Closing Day, Mr. Weissman’s droll humor, his imitation of the Rev. Wry, was on display throughout the Council meeting.
He opened by welcoming the overflow audience to the April 26 Council meeting, four days early.
Seamlessly segueing to his next memorable line, Mr. Weissman informed the large turnout of first-timers that two presentations to community members would be made “before we get to the meat of the agenda, the Consent Calendar.”
The Consent Calendar, for the irregulars, holds the same level of importance as an umpire blowing his nose at a baseball game.
The Right Temperament
Even when he lightly sparred with certain residents unhappy about policies or positions, he moved about with the gentleness of a child – well, the gentleness of a calm child.
If it is true that in the end, what counts is what your colleagues say about you, Mr. Weissman may count himself a certified success.
After delivering a succinct farewell speech, he began to call for moving to the election of a successor, until Ms. Sahli-Wells interrupted him, and that opened a spigot of tributes.
“You have set a tone with your wry humor and your organizational skills,” she said.
Mr. Cooper, the outgoing Vice Mayor, said he admired “your evenhandedness and your civility.”
“We came onto the Council together (five years ago),” said Mehaul O’Leary, a Dublin native, to the Culver City native. “You are the sage of our Council, our institutional memory.”
And finally, a friendly little shot.
“From the beginning,” said second-year Councilman Jim Clarke, “you have mentored me and acted like a father figure.”
The punchline is that Mr. Clarke, at 64 years old, is a year Mr, Weissman’s senior.’
Mr. Cooper’s entry on the stage will be treated in a separate story.
