Wasn’t it ironic that days after the muddiest election campaign oldtimers can remember, Andy Weissman, first among equals, silkily ascended to the mayor’s position last Monday without resistance or competition?
Steve Rose, two-term former Councilman and President of the Chamber of Commerce, was saying afterward that oldtimers might not recognize how drastically power has shifted within City Hall.
He recalled that the late realtor Dan Patacchia still ranks as a unique figure in the history of Culver City politics.
While he served a conventional two terms, Mr. Patacchia was mayor for the last six consecutive years he was in office, 1962-’68, an unprecedented achievement.
As a high school student at the time, Mr. Rose said he doesn’t know how Mr. Patacchia remained in control so long. “I would assume it was a matter of sheer power,” Mr. Rose said.
“From the 1960s until the present time, the real change is that the City Manager has become the main power in the city. When you have one man on the City Council serving multiple years as mayor, the power will rest with him and the Council.
“These days, what is the mayor’s job? To preside at Council meetings, determine which Council members speak first and last, having his signature on all of the checks, being at ribbon-cuttings and representing the city to other government agencies.”
As for elevating the mayor’s office by opening it to a vote of the people, Mr. Rose said the answer is a mixed bag. “Irvine is one of a number of communities that elects a mayor,” he said. “They have four Council members who serve four-year terms, the mayor serves a two-year term and he has an equal vote.
“I wouldn’t change anything about the way we elect a mayor, in the rotation system. The vice mayor proceeds to mayor, and that is as it should be.”
Sometimes members are snubbed. The accomplished one-term former Councilman Ed Little never was mayor during the 1970s. “Yet,” said Mr. Rose, “he is the only elected Councilman who ever went on to higher office.
“Of course, the decade before, many people were not elected mayor as long as Dan Patacchia held office. When he ran for re-election in 1964, there were about 5200 votes. He got 4646 of them. You can see he was a very popular person.”
Turning to Mr. Patacchia’s legacy, Mr. Rose said he came to know the successful realtor late in his life. “I can tell you he was a nice man,” he said. “He was a friend and a confidante. It is not generally known how much he helped other small business people go and buy a piece of real estate in Culver City. He helped people make wealth. That is his legacy.”
