No one backing incumbent Karlo Silbiger’s long-presumed re-election to the School Board sniffed a hint that disaster was looming.
Expectedly, once the candidate vanished out the door of his well-advertised victory party, hardly anyone from his side felt like ruminating.
There would be time for that after the wounds heal. The recuperative process will take awhile, even – or especially for a 30-year-old en route, seemingly unimpeded, to the political stars, to as lofty of a placement as he desires.
In an undefeated career that has cruised exactly as plotted in each outing, Mr. Silbiger must be in electric shock this morning as he prepares to meet his students at a Venice school.
While his proud liberal stance on issues have brought him hard-edged rivals, even enemies, surely even they will acknowledge that Mr. Silbiger has been a magnificent component of the community’s political and education networks in recent years.
He out-researches and out-thinks nearly all of his colleagues.
Extraordinarily educated, it shows regularly in his School Board performances.
Insiders were insistent last night that Mr. Silbiger’s controversial, singlehanded turnback of the bond measure campaign last July while it was gaining height was not determinative, did not bring him down.
A man who has known Mr. Silbiger all of his young and accomplished life and was with him on his door-to-door campaign said the state of the Natatorium came up with residents more frequently than the bond did.
Two numbers are indisputable. When Mr. Silbiger captured his first election four Novembers ago, he cornered 26 percent of the vote. Yesterday, he managed a shrinking 16 percent.
Part of the decline could be attributed to the seven-person field, but plainly, some former backers had become disenchanted.
All that can be said with certitude this morning is that Karlo Silbiger shall return.
Thirty is too young to retire, even with (or maybe because of) the Affordable Care Act.
