It is a measure of the shaky quality of the City Council candidates’ field that only three of the eight have completed their paperwork 48 hours before the drop-dead deadline.
Most of them are listed in the telephone directory under Anonymous or I Prefer to be Alone.
Their campaign strategies resemble the Italian Army’s standard 20th century war plan: “What do you want to do this morning, guys?”
This could be the worst race, the stodgiest, since 1896 when the Republican William McKinley conducted the entirety of his campaign for the White House from his front porch in Canton, Ohio. Didn’t budge, and he won. The masterful orchestrator of that campaign, Mark Hanna, died 104 years ago but his ghost must be roaming the streets of Culver City after dark.
This is the first time I have heard of a whole group conducting a stealth campaign on purpose.
Only Half Paying Attention?
Encouragingly, not everyone has turned out the lights, donned a mask , dropped to the floor and retreated into a closet.
Only race favorite Andy Weissman, Dr. Luther Henderson and Mehaul O’Leary have completed their paperwork and legally are qualified to run. Mr. O’Leary was the latest at 12:30 this afternoon.
Mr. Weissman probably is the best organized in the field.
His team has been in place for months. His paperwork was completed close to the earliest possible date. His literature is strategically distributed throughout the community. His classy website is running strong, and he stands at the door to file his financial report on the due date at the earliest hour. He is more visible in Culver City than Sony.
A Running Start
Jeff Cooper, the last contender, also is alert. He offers a textbook lesson on candidate protocol.
Mr. Cooper took out papers with the City Clerk on Monday and did his first newspaper interview the next morning (See “Will Entry of Cooper Add Muscle to the Council Candidates’ Field?” Jan. 8).
By 9:30 last night, he had fired off a newsy 400-word press release to the newspaper.
The other four candidates, I have heard, are vacationing in the Caribbean. Election Day dawns three months from yesterday.
The Faint of Heart Four should have studied the recent School Board campaign for instructive guidelines on running for office in Culver City.
It was no fluke that from a field of five, voters chose the two hardest workers, Scott Zeidman and Steve Gourley.
Why Gourley and Zeidman Won
Here is a tip for the Faint of Heart Four: At the beginning of the Board campaign last summer, Mr. Zeidman was less widely known than my wife’s elderly uncle who lives in Florida.
He won office the same way he has become successful in his two professional careers. He is magnificently organized.
A wise American named Branch Rickey said in the last century that “Luck is the residue of hard work.” If you claim Mr. Zeidman was lucky, you must concede it was because of his perspiration-soaked work ethic.
Focus and Concentration
Only he who is organized can be credited with working hard. Candidates who think they are working hard because they are merely pumping fast probably are unfocused. They would qualify for the Wheel Spinner of the Year Award.
Extreme focus and hourly concentration are mandatory even in the transitioning community of Culver City with its tiny voter base. These qualities have not been detected in the four unmentioned candidates.
In the elections I have witnessed since the turn of the century, the tiny voter base has chosen the candidates it knows the most about. They know best the candidates who are the most visible and who are the best organized. Sounds pedantic, but those qualities are crucial.
The Need to Know Is Instant
It did not apply in the dark ages of 10 years ago, but in these instant times when voters are ruminating about a candidate, they want to him to be accessible and not have to wait until the next time they intersect at a market.
Voters want to be able to immediately turn to their computers, learn about his pedigree, his C.V., his political philosophy, his grasp of community affairs and his perspective on them. What about his character?
Even in a small town, boobs can sneak through.
Of the eight Council contenders, only Mr. Weissman, Dr. Henderson and Mr. Cooper ever have sat on the dais in Council Chambers as members of assorted commissions. During the last eight years, we have seen candidates turn into popsicles and others grow into stars after winning Council elections.
Were They Kidnapped?
Where are the current candidates?
Home practicing before a floor-length mirror?
Consulting the manual “How to Win Small Town Elections Without Working up a Sweat”?
Or addressing the Rotary Club?
Ninety days out, scarcely a beep is registering on my screen. Which gives you a sense of the three candidates who will be crowned on April 8.
