When Mehaul O’Leary stepped out from the office of Dep. City Clerk Ela Valladares at 12:25 this afternoon, he hardly resembled your favorite neighborhood Irish barkeep.
Not a white apron in sight.
Night-time sharp, his dark business suit, button-down shirt and flawlessly knotted necktie suggested that pulling papers to run for the City Council — for the third time — was a special deal.
As the fifth and final announced candidate to officially register his intention to compete in next April’s election, Mr. O’Leary looked the part.
“In my life, this is a very important day,” he said.
Mr. O’Leary also was decked out for a glamourous fundraiser at 6:30 this evening.
Talk about campaigning in snappy, smart-stepping style.
Ready to Sail
“O’Leary for City Council” supporters have been invited to join the candidate on an 80-foot catamaran that will depart from the Marina at the dinner hour.
“We always have room for more people,” Mr. O’Leary said. “They can reach me at my campaign phone, 310.837.1917, the year Culver City was founded, or email me at mehaul007@yahoo.com.”
In his mere 4 1/2 years as an American citizen, Mr. O’Leary has learned not to take for granted a what usually figures to be a phlegmatic visit to City Hall to sign up to be a City Council candidate.
Vividly but less bitterly with the passage of time, he recalls the disaster that befell him the first time he ran for office six months after gaining citizenship.
He still harbors suspicions of skullduggery.
Sad Story
He needed no prompting to give a full accounting.
To his paralyzing amazement, when he came to Ms. Valladares’ office in January of ’04 to pull candidate papers for the first time, “I was found not to be a registered voter. This was a shock to me because I had registered to vote the same day I became a citizen, July 27, ’03.
“I registered at the Republican Party booth, with no affiliation by myself to any particular party. It was the first booth I came to. I remember there was a lifesized cardboard photo of the President.
“I went over to the lady and told her I wanted to register to vote. I checked ‘Declined to State’ where they asked for affiliation. I had the whole form already filled out.
Who Was Right?
“She told me I had checked the wrong box. ‘No, I haven’t,’ I told her. ‘I have declined to state.’ She said, ‘This is a Republican booth.’ I said, ‘You are required to accept applications from everybody.’
“She said, ‘Oh, I see. Well, why don’t you want to become a Republican?’ I said, ‘If you want me to become a Republican, you will have to fight for my vote,’ I told her. ‘That is how important my vote is to me.’
“I have all of this on video. We went back and forth. It was a very interesting conversation.
“I remember the lady’s name, Mary Sands. She was President of the Women’s Republican Party in Thousand Oaks..
“Apparently, my application went missing from that moment on.”
Suspicions Remain
Mr. O’Leary was asked if he suspected Ms. Sands had a hand in the disappearance of his registration.
“I absolutely do,” he said.
“I believe she did not realize that somebody like me could possibly be coming through the line. She felt, ‘If he is not going to vote for us, it can go missing.’ I know for a fact that (booth workers) get $5 for each Republican application.”
Those unpleasant moments formed a back-straightening lesson for the slightly dazed Mr. O’Leary.
“It hit home to me that the tactics start at the earliest event,” the wised-up candidate said. “When you get involved in America as a citizen, the political tactics start.”
A Change
Is Mr. O’Leary still as upset as he was four years ago?
“Oh, no,” he quickly responded. “Now I understand the system. Now I am even more motivated to get involved to change the way things are.”
In the interim, did he affiliate?
“No,” Mr. O’Leary said. “I still decline to state. In the general election, I will vote for the best candidate for President of this country. I want all of the information.
“As a decline-to-state person, you get all information from both sides. That, to me, is more important than being onesided.
A Clear View From Here
“Many people have grown up as Democrats or Republicans. I understand their affiliation. It is very similar in Ireland where the parties have roots. I don’t have such roots. I look at a candidate from a fresh perspective, the same way I hope residents of Culver City will look at me.
“I am not ingrained or entrenched in any particular party. I will be able to look at every issue from a standpoint that is clear, that is representative of the people who voted for me, and that is why I believe I will be the candidate.”
