Steve Rose’s attention was arrested when City Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Sahli-Wells criticized what she perceived as anti-Muslim language in an op-ed essay that originated here.
The president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce addressed Ms. Sahli-Wells’s several mentions of the phrase “my community.” She said the critique negatively affected “my community.”
“‘Community’ can be defined in so many ways,” said Mr. Rose. “I look at ‘community’ as the corporate boundaries of Culver City.”
Digging to the core of his response, Mr. Rose said Ms. Sahli-Wells “tries to have communities. I have no idea how you define them.
“Many organizations have popped up in recent years in this town. These organizations have different names. Still the same people, though.”
Mr. Rose said he has no idea what Ms. Sahli-Wells means when she says “‘a community.’
“When seven to 10 people show up at City Council meetings and speak on one subject, from one perspective,” Mr. Rose said, “that is not ‘the community.’
“It must be remembered that any elected representative in the United States represents all of the people.”
Mr. Rose recalled his experience with insight on the dais from 2000 to 2008.
“When I was on the City Council and had 10 people speaking on one subject, I would remind myself that the 3200 people who voted for me respected my decision-making,” he said. “It was a representative form of government. I represented those 3200 plus the people who did not vote, plus the seven or 10 people who showed up to speak.
“I don’t object to Meghan using ‘my community.’ I believe in free speech. I just believe my definition of what a community is may differ from other opinions.
“A broader definition of ‘community’ could be ‘all registered voters.’ A ‘community’ could be a legal entity like the Raintree townhouses.”
Mr. Rose suggested that slyness may have been at work.
“But (for Ms. Sahli-Wells) to say ‘a community’ without defining what she means is a way of making people think a large number of people are in support of one view,” he said.
