Possibly no one else on the sidelines but City Councilman-elect Andy Weissman more intensely tracked the mesmerizing mental machinations of the last two heart-stopping days at City Hall.
Like other insiders, Mr. Weissman wondered what the final score would be, who would be for, who would be against.
Although residents who were hardline opponents of the Entrada Office Tower were unshakably convinced the City Council vote was etched in dry cement even before anyone spoke, that was not true.
Councilman Scott Malsin and Mayor Alan Corlin were floating voters.
They still were making up their minds. They studied every breath drawn by Councilman Gary Silbiger during his teeth-rattling filibuster on Monday night and Tuesday night — a legislative gimmick that no one in Culver City ever had seen, except on television.
The votes of Mr. Corlin and Mr. Malsin votes were interlocked.
Separately and Together
Without plunging deeply into an Inside Baseball evaluation, Mr. Malsin and the mayor both had their own reasons for opposing Entrada, whether it would be 12, 13 or 75 stories into the sky.
Mr. Silbiger, the object of their attention, was deaf, however, to the news he had allies.
Throughout the frayed nerves ordeal of sweaty back-to-back meetings to determine Entrada’s future, Mr. Silbiger, who decided a long time ago he was strictly a solo act, acted both unaware that he had potential allies — and unconcerned.
He meant to make the oratorical statement of all time about Entrada. Since he travels alone, he seemed to be saying that his colleagues could pound sand.
Anyone Home?
Mr. Silbiger carried out his filibuster as if no one else were in Council Chambers, questioning staff, reading dust-dry texts, softly and without distinction from arcane documents that even wonks would skim or skip.
All the while, sources say, Mr. Malsin and Mr. Corlin were hedging their votes.
Mr. Silbiger needed not have been alone. Succor, ignored tough it was, was only one chair on the dais away.
Mr. Corlin telegraphed subtle clues to Mr. Silbiger that he was sympathetic to his ironclad opposition, but the clues bounced and tumbled, harmlessly, to the floor.
A politician’s presumably open mind suddenly becomes complicated when there is a strong community outpouring for an issue.
When a Crowd Lines up
It is even more problematic when a politician such as Mr. Malsin is presumed to be disposed toward running for re-election in ’10.
If Mr. Malsin wanted to curry favor with voters, logic dictated an unhesitant “no” vote.
On the other hand, since City Hall stands to derive huge fiscal benefits if a project the scope of Entrada goes up within the city limits, that would augur an unequivocal “yes” vote by Mr. Malsin.
The outcome was up to him — and Mr. Corlin.
Early in the Council deliberation process — before Mr. Silbiger sprang his unpopular filibuster on unprepared colleagues — it was clear that Vice Mayor Carol Gross and Councilman Steve Rose would support the heavily disputed draft environmental impact report.
That made two votes for, one against, with Mr. Corlin and Mr. Malsin controlling the result.
Tallying up
The 3 to 2 vote to approve the project at a height of 190 feet — arguably the most crucial test of the evening —tells a story of character, as far as Mr. Weissman is concerned. With Mr. Silbiger and Mayor Alan Corlin casting “no” votes, Ms. Gross and Mr. Rose standing firmly on the affirmative side, that left the swing vote, the tough call, up to Mr. Malsin.
“I always believed that at the end of the day Scott would vote his conscience, which told him to make a decision in the best interests of the city,” Mr. Weissman said.
“Scott’s vote probably will be criticized by anyone who would consider running against him in the next election.
“If Scott chooses to run, from a purely political perspective, he would have preferred to criticize the project and vote against Entrada. But he didn’t.”
There Is a Distinction
Mr. Weissman said he appreciated the difference between serving merely on an advisory board — as a Planning Coimmissioner, he voted against Entrada in February — and officially deciding on Entrada as a member of the City Council.
“Scott won’t get the credit he deserves,” Mr. Weissman said. “But he did what he thought was in the best interests of Culver City, not what he thought was in the best interests of Scott Malsin..”
