Christopher Armenta, tall, dark and yes, handsome, he of the electronic smile and the infectious, capacious outgoing personality, may end up being the most closely watched of the three new City Council members.
Council watchers want to know:
Is he or isn’t he?
Or is he a blend?
Philosophically, he is left of center.
The ambitious Mr. Armenta is close enough to Councilman Gary Silbiger’s hard left camp that he can reach out and make contact with his well taken care of fingernails.
This would be news because it has not happened before.
Throughout his one and a half terms, Mr. Silbiger has been a stubborn solo act with a reputation for declining to compromise in trying to get his reliable agenda pushed through.
As a result, only small portions of Mr. Silbiger’s to-do list have won Council approval.
Mr. Armenta, far more charming than his friend, the father of his young and respected campaign manager, says that while they have wide areas of agreement, he is his own person.
Mr. Armenta, the City Clerk for the past six years, talks compromise, which Mr. Silbiger almost never has.
Last night at his whooping-it-up victory party at the Grand Casino bakery, it took the absolutely jubilant Mr. Armenta awhile to return to land after winning the second of three available Council seats.
“I have dreamed this a hundred times,” he said. “Winning is like a dream come true.
“It is such a short distance from the City Clerk’s chair to a chair on the Council. But so many years to get there. It takes such hard work and dedication and support.”
Question: In finishing 387 votes behind Andy Weissman and 407 ahead of Mehaul O’Leary, what was the best thing you did during your campaign?
“It is what I always do during campaigns: Knocking on doors and talking to voters. I pride myself on talking to as many voters as I possibly can.
“I believe it makes me a better candidate. Invariably, people give me feedback. They will say, ‘This is what I would like to see.’ ‘This is what I like.’ ‘This is what I don’t like.’
“More than that, yes, I am the candidate. But I never could have done this without the support of what I believe is a grassroots effort from the ground up.
“My committee. Karlo Silbiger, my fantastic campaign manager. All of the people who volunteered many hours. Every single person was important.”
Question: What will be your first priority?
“One of the first things I want to do is discuss how we get things agendized on the City Council.
“Currently, we have a policy where it takes three Council members to get anything agendized. I don’t agree with that.
“As Council members, we all have constituents. There are a lot of issues we would like to see discussed before the Council and the public.
“I would like to see that revisited.
“That is No. 1.
“No. 2, I would like to see us break away from the Carson (animal) shelter and find an alternative shelter closer to Culver City.
“Also, I would like to start working on an animal control officer for Culver City. That was part of my platform.
“The big issue, of course, is development.
“What I would like to see with the bigger development projects is a mechanism that would allow all interested parties in the community to have a say early-on.
“Sometimes I feel residents are left in the background when they discuss development projects.”
Mr. Armenta said it is “troubling” that the hyper-controversial 220-foot Entrada Office Tower project will be voted on next Monday by the outgoing City Council majority that will be sidelined two weeks later.
“It is troubling to me because as I walked through this community, many residents were not aware of this project,” the new Councilman said.
“When I tell them about it, they are very much opposed because of the infrastructure, the traffic and all the things that come with larger projects.
“How are those things being addressed?
“The other huge issue with Entrada is our 56-foot height limit in Culver City that was voted on in 1990.
“I have a sense that it was the will of the voters that they didn’t want to be (like) Century City. That was why the 56-foot height limit was passed.
“My big, big issue always has been community involvement.”
Question: It appears that Gary Silbiger, after six years on the City Council, finally has an ally.
“We agree on many issues. Some are very common sense.
“A lot of things Gary has been asking for for years, I have found these are what residents want.
“For me, it is just a common sense approach.
“Gary and I do not agree on every issue. But especially when it has to do with community involvement, the agendizing issue, we agree.”
Question: Is it fair to say, then, that Mr. Silbiger has an ally in you?
“He has someone who agrees with a lot of what he has asked for in the past and has been voted down on.
“I not only look forward to working with Gary but the rest of the Council. I have said during this whole campaign, I am a bridgebuilder, that I look forward to reaching out to every Council member.
“There are ways to compromise on many issues.”
