Second in a series
Re “Figuring Out Newcomer Murray”
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Since businessman Stephen Murray burst into the City Council race, the most frequently employed term has been “only.”
The only “progressive, left-leaning libertarian,” the only philosophically non-traditional candidate. “I think I've been pretty consistent with that,” he says, “as even my contrary comments have an anti-establimentarian libertarian ring to them.”
He is a professional environmentalist who preaches various forms of sustainability.
Equally excitable and approachable, he broke speed-talking records in his debut and has not slowed since.
Not a polished public speaker, he presents an appealing personality that whizzes by you in a blur because he is so pumped, aiming to cover a million words in the next five minutes.
You won’t catch all of them, and that is a pity.
He seems so congenial, you want to like him, a huge asset for old and new politicians.
“My campaign started,” Mr. Murray says, “because I saw an opportunity for us to make a change.”
He chose a curious season in which to begin his political career, one of those rare times when there isn’t a major debatable topic in the community, with the possible exception of the controversy that swirls about Scott Malsin’s candidacy.
As other still-in-training freshman politicians have done, Mr. Murray dove into the bosom of the dispute at the first opportunity. Stunningly, he criticized Mr. Malsin by name at the first Candidates Forum last month.The Culver City Democratic Club audience, hardly an ally of Mr. Malsin, gasped.
Returning to his central theme of sustainability, Mr. Murray says he wants to change the mentality he has observed around City Hall.
“When you grow, grow, grow,” he says, “you are not being sustainable. You are just growing. You need to go back to the core and become sustainable. From there, you grow some more. You have to go through phases. It happens with people. It happens with cities.
“The idea is to develop a static core. Otherwise, you run the risk of being at the mercy of the environment.
“Wee lost our sales tax revenue, and now our finances are at the mercy of our lost sales taxes and our rising retiree costs.”
(To be continued)
