First in a series
[img]1305|left|Mr. Weissman||no_popup[/img]Perhaps ironically, Andy Weissman, the mayor of Culver City for the past year, was doing his civic duty this morning, answering a jury call as he began his final day in Hizzoner’s chair.
At this evening’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting at City Hall, the mayoralty carousel will spin according to the City Charter. Mr. Weissman will step aside, Vice Mayor Jeff Cooper ascending to the pinnacle, and second-year Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells being elected Vice Mayor.
Even though the chair is heavily ceremonial, its impact on an individual life is not to be minimized.
Especially when the departing mayor is one of those rare birds born to lead, not just randomly, but to serve as a fulltime, elected mayor here, should Culver City ever have one.
The 63-year-old Mr. Weissman will address that subject later.
He is the identical person behind closed doors or when cutting a ribbon at a supermarket opening. Trailing him, Jekyll and Hyde would have starved to death.
In numerous ways, his personality, his temperament, his style of governing all are ideally tailored to be mayor of this community.
With the possible exception of Julie Lugo Cerra, no one in Culver City knows the community better or is qualified, so roundly,
How did he feel this morning about leaving office? Is it a letdown?
He paused because he never takes a headlong dive into a response.
“It will be different,” Mr. Weissman said. “There will be an adjustment. You go from being at the center of attention, running meetings, being asked to give welcomes, being recognized as The Mayor, going from being one of five as opposed to The One of five.
I don’t think most people realize being mayor is an honorary position more than a position of power.”
This is your second term as mayor. Was it different from the first time?
“There is the unknown aspect the first time. Protocol and other factors you never had to work with before. The second time, most of the mystery is gone. The curtain has been lifted, and you can see the big picture.
“Personalities (on the City Council) are different. That plays a role in how things get done. There was a different attitude this time. The general sense of the community seemed to have been better this past year. In 2009-10, things were pretty dismal from the standpoint of uncertainty.
“The economy had tanked. Culver City was reeling from economic distress. We had lost auto dealerships, Westfield (shopping mall) was down. We were going through reserve (funding), and there did not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Great distress. It was more the lack of certainty. We didn’t know how bad it was going to get, if or when it was going to turn around, or if, when a turnaround happened, whether we still would be in a position to take advantage of it.
“This time, we could sense that things were improving, albeit slowly. There were signs that darkest of days were behind us. We had a greater sense of optimism about when we would come out of this. When we got the (half-cent) sales tax overwhelmingly approved (last November), that was not so much a vindication of what the city had been doing but a reflection of how important the quality of life it is to our community.
“That is a testament to the city. If times were lousy and people were not happy with services, we would not have been able to pass a local sales tax, much less pass it by a 3 to 1 majority,” Mr. Weissman said.
(To be continued)
