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If your child is running with The Mob, mama, do not fret. Your worries have ended. At least you know where to find him every Monday night — in Council Chambers.
To the consternation of true democrats (lower-case “d”) and other reasonable people, mob rule has hijacked the City Council the last two Mondays.
Thuggishly, each mob has dictated terms of the outcome of one high-profile event — reasoning, research, integrity, reflection, democratic process be darned.
He who has the might, The Mob, on his side, is automatically right.
Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger willfully — and chillingly — serves as their executor, their sycophantically cooperative personal stenographer.
The Way It Works
The mob dictates the terms, Mr. Silbiger eagerly writes them down, and a thunderstorm of loud, stentorian and repetitious rhetoric fills the Council Chambers for as many hours as it takes the opposition to gasp “I surrender.”
His and the mob’s strategy is remarkably naked — drag out the meeting long as you can, all the while crossfiring misdirected signals that frustrate and confuse your colleagues.
Clouds of chaos billow through the room, and your mind starts to grow hazy.
Without firing a direct shot, the Vice Mayor, heretofore stubborn but subservient, has seized control of the City Council.
He completed the takeover last night. Clumsily but effectively — and above all, dutifully — Mr. Silbiger bowed to every whimsical wish of his drum-banging masters. If you looked closely enough, you could see the leash.
Duck. Here Comes the Kitchen Sink.
A cornerstone of the mob/Silbiger strategy: Throw everything you have at your enemy. Never forget that everyone who disagrees with you is not just your rival but your enemy, to be beaten down.
And so it was with the residents demonstrating against a three-story, mixed use, 24- to 28-condo project at 4043 Irving Pl.
Nothing wrong with residents rounding up their neighbors to protest a new building you don’t like, even if many of the reasons are out of left field. They brought signs to hold across their chests and signs to hoist. That is fair when you are trying to block a development.
Mr. Silbiger was supposed to be an authority figure on the dais, especially since the Council was reduced by one member because Andy Weissman was obligated to recuse himself. But that never is a safe bet.
Compliance, Thy Name Is Silbiger
Instead of conducting himself as a mature and skeptical political leader, he choked. He morphed into a wide-eyed little boy, imploring the crowd, “Tell me more.” And the crowd kept serving doozies, which Mr. Silbiger lapped up.
The Vice Mayor, every the probing interrogator as your friendly neighborhood lawyer by day, never had a doubt that steamed-up residents were telling the whole darned truth, disdaining the temptation to be hyperbolic.
Mr. Silbiger frequently embarrasses himself by playing to and plying crowds. It is almost painful to watch him trying to please them. He treats them as gods. Kowtowing is an honor.
Democracy takes a hit every time Mr. Silbiger stoops to conquer.
A distressed woman in City Hall told me this morning:
“As long as Gary has, or thinks he has this much power, any developer who wants to do more than rehab a building should take the next two years off, until Silbiger is out of office.”
Mr. Silbiger is the first City Council member I ever have met for whom blinders are a permanent and treasured part of his daily uniform.
Unlike his more independent colleagues, he came to the Council 6 1/2 years ago with a far left agenda.
Nothing wrong with that — except that Mr. Silbiger is a serious competitor for being the most stubborn small town or big town politician in Southern California.
Stubbornness has destroyed more politicians than it has helped.
Often, to my amazement, fighting an idealistic fight has been more important to him than winning a battle. I have not the smallest doubt that he would rather lose than compromise.
The result: Mr. Silbiger’s agenda, for 6 1/2 years, has been D.O.A., an enigmatic case for the coroner.
Another key and favorite plank of Mr. Silbiger’s, to which he meticulously adheres, is to wear down his opponent. It is uncomplicated, merely calling for brute persistence. Whether the contest is cerebral or athletic, just keep throwing clouds of dust in the face of your rival. Eventually, he will tire of eating dirt and say, “Have it your way.”
Mr. Silbiger thrives on chaos — it’s like oxygen to a dying man. The last two Mondays provide excellent case studies.
To be continued
