Sitting down with the only incumbent in next week’s City Council election can be like riding across the country holding an open encyclopaedia in each hand.
He is the genuine Answer Man. Knows everything.
Is there anything subject with which he isn’t familiar?
He not only holds an opinion on every topic that could be dredged up, but speaks from experience because in four years in the Council, he has dealt directly with it.
[img]824|left|Anne, Arden 5 11/12, and Scott Malsin||no_popup[/img] For those reasons, Scott Malsin is favored to retain his seat in next Tuesday’s election while Jeff Cooper, Meghan Sahli-Wells and Robert Zirgulis contest the seat that term-limited Gary Silbiger is vacating.
One undeniable advantage for Mr. Malsin, the charming antithesis of bashful in private, is being the only incumbent in the field.
This presents an irresistible opening that allows the candidate to take a bow for everything that has blossomed, or started to develop, in Culver City since ’06.
Rather brilliantly, Mr. Malsin has hammered away at this juicy edge through all of the candidate forums, hopefully effectively putting wide gashes of space between himself and the closely bunched competition.
If endorsements matter, and many believe they do, Mr. Malsin has gobbled up practically everything within his grasp.
He has been criticized for a perceived lordly manner, but when he draws up a chair for a one-on-one, such a perception is about as close as the moon. Face-to-face is where he shines.
A strategist would say that Mr. Malsin has done everything exactly right for the past three months.
“Running as an incumbent has been very different from running four years ago,” said the Councilman. “I have a record to be able to point to. And Culver City has changed for the better in so many ways the past four years.”
Q. Name the two or three most significant improvements in which you have had a hand.
“Downtown is a good example. It has evolved so much since four years ago. I am proud of my role in helping to keep the momentum going.
“The progress we have made on the shape the Expo Line is going to take as it enters and passes through Culver City is another example.”
Q. When will light rail reach Culver City?
“My expectation is there will be fare operations, probably to La Cienega, in 2011 (from downtown Los Angeles), about a year and a half from now, and fare operations to Culver City in 2012.
“Needless to say, the reason we are somewhat behind (originally due here this year) is for a positive purpose. Instead of having a station south of Washington Boulevard and parking north of Venice Boulevard, there will be construction of the bridge across Washington Boulevard and the aerial station, a $54 million piece of work.”
Q. How soon?
“Obviously as soon as possible, but I want them done in the best way possible. I want to make sure that anything that opens around the station area is not just opening for the train station. I am interested in seeing this make the Rancho Higuera and East Culver City neighborhoods that much more desirable to live in.
“The real key is that the (light rail) line itself will be operating. That is very exciting for Culver City and the entire region.”
Q. Are you confident most of the development complex surrounding the station will be completed by ’12?
“I doubt it will. Two of the corners are owned by private entities. I am not sure what their timetables are. We are approaching our own project in a much more organized way than a few years ago. Plus we have a relationship with (the Metropolitan Transit Authority), which has allowed us to secure the ability to use a good portion of the Metro right-of-way to build parking. We also are working to make sure we have control of properties facing onto Venice.”
Q. How soon will at least portions of the complex surrounding the aerial station be ready?
“I would say the whole thing will be moving forward in three or four years.”
Q. Due to the two-year-old recession, plans for Parcel B, in the heart of Downtown, have disappeared from view. Stagnant for so long, will it look the same, that is unstarted, in five years?
“No. Five years from now, I expect something there.”
Q. Will it be a Sony Studios-related structure?
“I would say likely. But we are not shopping for a developer yet.”
Q. With the recession having stopped Culver City development in its tracks for the second half of your four-year term, how has that affected your Council duties?
“It definitely has made my work somewhat less busy. But my attitude in general is that you make an opportunity out of everything. The shift in the economy has given us the opportunity to work through all of the land issues around the (aerial) station. It also has given us an opportunity to start fresh with Parcel B. This has given us a chance to plan carefully, and to do some public works projects that will make Culver City that much stronger. And happily, we are seeing the economy stabilize now.”
Q. As the first full week begins for Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell, is there a chance a permanent replacement for Mark Scott can be found before Mr. Ewell’s four-month agreement expires?
“Iffy, I would say. I hope so. But I am not certain.”
Q. Talk about the ways campaigning as a member of the City Council differs from seeking election as an outsider?
“First, it is really nice to be able to know the answers to questions that people ask. It also is nice because people know who I am. So we can have more meaningful conversations than when you are not as well known.
“A real pleasure has been… I visit people all over town. There is nothing like walking through neighborhoods, knocking on people’s doors. You get a much deeper sense of what is on their minds as opposed to driving up and getting out of the car and going into a home.
“It has been great to see the way Culver City has changed.
“I think the experience of campaigning is more nerve-wracking for someone who is not an incumbent because you don’t know the answers to as many questions.
“This has been wonderful for me. People are engaged. People like the fact their Council candidate knocks on their door. I knock on some doors and people say, ‘Oh, Mr. Mayor.’ When others open the door, they say, ‘Hi, Mr. Malsin. How are you?’ That is really pleasant.
“Serving on the Council, on a personal level, has been an enriching experience. I enjoy it, and my family — my wife Anne and my daughter Arden, who will be 6 next month — enjoys it, too”
