First in a series
[img]1048|left|Jim Clarke||no_popup[/img]Jim Clarke has made such a favorable non-partisan kind of impression in his first four months on the City Council that a lifelong Republican proudly announced on Sunday afternoon at Fiesta La Ballona that he voted for Mr. Clarke in April, and he will do so enthusiastically the next time.
That is significant for two reasons:
• Mr. Clarke unexpectedly entered the non-partisan City Council race last December not only as a Democrat lifer but a liberal. His political career has been associated with three liberals of note, the retired U.S. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Culver City), almost-termed-out Mayor Villaraigosa, presently job-hunting in Florida, and the Valley’s U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, now in a bitter, lawsuit-tinged campaign against fellow Democrat Howard Berman to represent the newly drawn district they now share.
• The other reason is that Mr. Clarke, because of a quirk in the last campaign, only won a two-year seat and will be up for re-election a year from December, start of the next race. He probably will be the first Councilman in history who will run in consecutive elections two years apart.
Who Knew?
From the day he entered his first competition for public office, Mr. Clarke presented and then executed as an utterly neutral voice on partisan issues. He spoke and acted as if all were members of one large party. That also is the way he has lived as a Councilman, reflective, uncommonly well-researched and informed, and thoroughly involved in community.
If the first reaction to his authentic neutrality was shock, it was closely followed by surprise, which was even more closely followed by understanding this attitude is the norm for Mr. Clarke.
In a close election, and an especially emotional race for the fourth seat on the Council, a short-sheeted one, Mr. Clarke’s iron sense of fairness doubtless swayed a meaningful number of voters.
The fun-loving series of dance photos in today’s edition (“Dancing with the Stars”) show the hair-down side of Mr. Clarke, a bachelor, that isn’t widely known. The day after his dancing extravaganza, he donned a referee’s striped shirt, complete with stentorian whistle, and teamed with retired Culver High Athletic Director Jerry Chabola to officiate a drenched hour’s worth of competition between PTA members and the United Parents of Culver City union.
A Sobering Perspective
This story, however, is about Mr. Clarke’s serious side.
In the midst of the City Council’s end-of-summer four-week holiday, what does a conscientious member do until Sept. 10?
“I have tried to get out to a lot of groups with meetings,” he says, typically. “It has been really good. Sometimes I get booked up for two or three meetings on the same night, and I go from one to another.
“I look forward to the time to get together, to meet people, to let them know more about me and to find out what they are doing.”
(To be continued)
