Second of two parts.
Re: “Mehaul as Mayor: It’s Only a Title”
Unless the gods of whimsy object, by this time next week Mehaul O’Leary will have been crowned mayor of Culver City – for the year to come – and Jim Clarke will succeed him as vice mayor.
As heavily invested as the seventh-year City Councilman is in his office, how is he spending his days leading up to next Monday’s Council vote?
Preparing an agenda for the year?
“Not so much an agenda,” Mr. O’Leary said. As outgoing Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells set a theme for her year, making Culver City a safe community for children, “I liked that idea,” said the next mayor. “She seemed to stay on that theme throughout the year when any issue concerning children came up.”
Mr. O’Leary is working on introducing “a focus rather than an agenda.”
He last assumed the Hizzoner role four years ago, for the final year of his first term. Looking back, he concedes that “I sort of misunderstood the position back then. I understand the job better now.
“Being mayor is purely a title. The reaction of some people to the position of mayor is kind of funny. When you are invited to an event, they want The Mayor. They don’t want the person who is the mayor. They want the title to be there.”
The more Mr. O’Leary thought about the distinctions, the more strongly he felt the distinction drawn above “is an eyeopener. “One year you are sought after by everybody, and the next year people don’t know your name.”
