A young woman who has closely studied personalities in School Board elections in Culver City is intrigued, but not mystified, by the subtraction of Karlo Silbiger from the Board two years ago.
“During his four years on the Board, he took a really strong – I mean very strong — approach to projects and subjects,” the woman said.
“His enthusiasm is typical of young elected officials: My way all the way. No compromise because that is seen as weakness.
“However, that take-no-prisoners attitude cost him his seat, I believe, because he made people angry by refusing to compromise.”
Another factor in Mr. Silbiger’s subtraction from office, according to the election observer, was his flap with interim School District Supt. Patty Jaffe.
“This case was so tough for Karlo, and it was so avoidable,” the person said. “Nancy Goldberg (career teacher who just retired from the School Board) was incredibly beloved in the District. Patty was problem the second most loved person in the city.
“Karlo didn’t want Patty to be the interim superintendent,” the woman critic said. “That was his right. But Karlo came across and did things in a way that made it more challenging for him. Part of the problem may have been that he just didn’t get it, did not understand what he was doing wrong.
“He was very devoted to his cause, and maybe to a fault. This is not a condemnation of him. I appreciate how hard he fought for his causes.
“His father, Gary, did, too. Even when Gary was losing, and people assured him of that, he would not budge. He was down 4 to 1, and he would filibuster. He had to know he was not going to change minds of the other City Council members by angering them.
“Same way with Karlo.”
Even though the scion of one of the community’s most successful political families – his father Gary Silbiger and his mother Barbara Honig — was and is regarded as a star of today and tomorrow, these days he is practically invisible.
A consultant/strategist for political candidates, the buzz his presence once created has been silenced.
In metropolitan areas and on the national stage, that is a ticket to high visibility.
In small towns, you become one of the Backstreet Boys, banished to the remote shadows.
Before Election Night, few voters knew that young Mr. Silbiger was a crucial strategist in Prof. Kelly Kent’s first-place finish.
If you are a nationally known consultant, your profile may be nearly as high as your clients.
But in a community the size of Culver City, strategists unwittingly take an oath of deafening silence.
I value Karlo Silbiger and Nancy Goldberg’s endorsements above all the others combined. They have been diligent, responsive, and principled members of the board.