Even though he has been the Mayor of Culver City during the past fiscally turbulent year, even though he has been at the helm of every city commission he has served on during the ‘80s, ‘90s and Oh-Ohs, and even though he probably has held more City Hall appointments than anyone in history, Andy Weissman never has done anything to attract attention to himself.
When people say, “If we lived in an ideal world,” Mr. Weissman, inarguably, would be in charge because he has been gifted with a bullet-proof temperament.
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Grandfather Weissman, right, with Cambria
Never too hot. Never too cold. Never too loquacious. Never too stoic. Never partisan.
His sense of self-discipline is frighteningly unassailable.
Whether he is standing alone or surrounded by dignitaries, his demeanor is middling and unchangeable.
Sure, he is a Democrat in a Democrat town.
But how would you know? He is neither left nor right. He is a centrist, in conviction, personality and conduct. Of course, he holds opinions. But they are measured with the scrupulous precision with which a cheapskate bartender ladles out drinks to Helen Kellar.
He turned 60 years old last Thursday.
If he ever has lost his temper, no living man has witnessed it. Because it only could have occurred in Death Valley when he was alone, 75 miles from the nearest civilized person.
His considerable wit is so dry it does not even sweat on those scattered days when the mercury sprints past 100 degrees.
The consummate politician’s one-year term in the supposedly ceremonial chair of the Mayor ends at Monday night’s City Council meeting. According to a recently adopted policy, Vice Mayor Chris Armenta will be elected by colleagues as the Mayor and Mehaul O’Leary will be voted Vice Mayor. Even if Mr. Weissman is re-elected in two years, it will be a long stretch before he can return to the Mayor’s chair.
And so the days between now and Monday are precious ones. His like doubtless will not be matched in Culver City in the foreseeable distance.
Question: How do you feel about your Closing Night as Mayor on Monday?
“I have enjoyed this year.”
Isn’t the office more than ceremonial?
“It is in the sense that when you are representing the city, you are conveying an image on behalf of the city. In the bigger picture, it is more than ceremonial, not just wielding a gavel at meetings. It is putting the city out there in the bigger world.
“If you are representing a city as the Mayor on a board or a committee with other mayors, how you carry yourself, what you say, how you say it, make it more than a ceremonial position.
“The job is ceremonial in that you are invited to ribbon-cuttings and events as the Mayor, sometimes purely ceremonially, to do nothing more than stand there.
“In other instances, you are asked to say or do, and that has a different resonance.”
If the Mayor is perceived as being apart from the City Council, even though he is a Councilman, isn’t there an extra spring in your step when you come to work with that title rather than as one of five Councilmen?
“I don’t think I subscribe to the latter part. When you come to work, you really are just first among equals since you are running the meeting. Your point of view carries no more weight than anyone else’s.”
But you are the leader.
“Only insofar as you have the ability to control. But at the end of the day, you still must have two other votes in order to make anything happen. Being Mayor places you in a different position. You are expected to let all others speak before you do.
“Sometimes you need to explain that being Mayor is just an honorary position, a title that Council members pass around amongst themselves on an annual basis. A lot of people believe Culver City mayors are elected as they are in Los Angeles or Long Beach.
“Initially, there may be a sense you are different. The reality is you are not.”
Will April 26 have the feeling of returning to the dealer a prestigious car you have driven for the past year?
“That is not an unfair analogy. You are invited to events as a mayor you may not be invited to as a member of the City Council. Or you are invited differently, say, to sit on the dais where the Council may be seated in the audience.
“At the Mayor’s Luncheon a few weeks ago, I said it takes a bit of time before you realize it is not who you are but what you are as Mayor. You do get invited and treated perhaps a little differently. The perception may be different when you are introduced as Mayor than if introduced as a Councilperson.
“In relatively short order, though, one learns it is not about you but the office. You just adjust.”
(To be continued)
