Wait until pollsters hear about this one.
“Our logic does not appeal to everyone,” said a member of Culver City’s largest municipal union after the board voted yesterday to endorse three candidates for the two City Council seats that will be contested on April 13.
Three for two?
To quote a little known philosopher, hmmmm.
With 9 or 10 board members participating, the Culver City Employees Assn., representing almost two-thirds of city workers, struck a blow for curiosity, not to mention history.
Why, praytell, did they agree to endorse three-fourths of the field, incumbent Scott Malsin along with contenders Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jeff Cooper, when only two chairs are available?
If you are a puzzle person, you may have noticed the answer was embedded in the inquiry.
The clue is: “(T)hree-fourths of the field.”
While a board member who did not want to be identified said “voters were impressed with all three of them,” the point of the explanation was:
This was an obvious snub. The union board was strongly dissatisfied, it says here, with the unique candidacy of heavily outspoken Robert Zirgulis. Whether it also was intended as a statement about the state of Mr. Malsin’s candidacy was in dispute.
Union members said that Mr. Cooper and Ms. Sahli-Wells were “pleased with the outcome.” But, they said, the news distressed Mr. Malsin. He won the Employee Assn.’s endorsement four years ago when he made his first successful run for the City Council.
Not true, Mr. Malsin said this afternoon: “They are well aware I have been focused on the city’s financial health and that I am cognizant of the need to take care of our city family.”
At City Hall today, several persons said Three-for-Two was still another sign that Mr. Malsin — described in the beginning as a re-election lock — no longer may be. He continues to encounter unexpected bumps in what was supposed to be a smooth u-turn into a second term.
One union stalwart interpreted the voting result with liberal creativity, saying:
“We figure two of those three will be elected, probably Scott and one of the others. The one who doesn’t make it will be getting ready for two years from now.”
As for Mr. Zirgulis, it is likely he will have been heard from by tomorrow at this hour.
Each endorsee receives a much appreciated $250 check for his and her campaigns.
