For those of us who only can be genuinely nourished by a political diet, the fun officially begins at 7:30 on Monday morning when City Council candidates can begin the registration process at the stone counter of the City Clerk’s office.
Indceed, one of those applicants, you may recall, will be the City Clerk himself, Christopher Armenta, whose campaign for Council already is six months old.
The intrigue was not long in starting. You read here two days ago that the veteran School Board member Saundra Davis appears on the ledge of signing up. She said everything but formally “yes” at last Tuesday night’s Board meeting.
A Dilemma for Voters?
Her candidacy would open up a fascinating can of strategic worms because Mr. Armenta and Ms. Davis would be targeting the same constituency.
Just because three Council seats will be open in the April 8 election, it does not mean all Culver City voters will instinctively mark three names on their ballots.
Some voters in the Blair Hills neighborhood — and liberal leaners in other districts — may feel inclined to vote for Ms. Davis or Mr. Armenta but not both.
Womenly Influence
As you further may know, at least one more lady is planning to leap into the pool any day now, and the possibility of two women on the City Council is tantalizing — and I believe unprecedented.
Two women would dramatically alter the dynamics on the dais where the boys historically have had their way.
For the last seven years, Vice Mayor Carol Gross has been tolerated like a sometimes-pesky kid sister, as if she were the only girl available on an all-boys baseball team headed by Charlie Brown.
A Proper Blend
Ms. Gross, however, is so capable of taking care of herself that I would hire her as a bodyguard when she leaves office in April — if she is interested.
Too bad the term-limited Ms. Gross will not be around to share the company of one or both ladies.
For all of her steel toughness, the immensely capable Ms. Gross also is a full-time lady in her comportment. Importantly, she dresses like a lady, too, not a would-be dockworker. Unlike the knockabouts identified below, Ms. Gross never pulls rank to play the feminist card. She shows that a lady politician can be both graceful and strong. Her gender successors seem to command the same traits.
Let the Booing Begin
Los Angeles politics is loaded with undesirable, insecure, loud-mouthed, sexually starved broads who probably gave up drinking and carousing to blow off nasty ideas on any street corner that would have them — Diane Watson, Maxine Waters, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Wendy Greuel, Janice Hahn, Ramona Ripston and Jan Perry.
You could reach into a popcorn bag and get luckier. They would make a sensible man throw up his arms in despair and run off to hide in the desert. Send them to Iraq and Al Qaeda will surrender tomorrow. Still, they could use a shot of the intellectual steroids that the baseball players shunned.
I digress.
Were Ms. Davis to win, this would necessitate a special election to fill her seat. Depending on the replacement, this would shake up the dynamics on the School Board, and it could create a majority bloc among the three newcomers, including just-installed Steve Gourley and Scott Zeidman.
Standing in Line
The night after the School Board met, I saw two-time Board candidate Roger Maxwell at the Democratic Club meeting. He looked primed to me for another run if a seat prematurely opens up.
Returning to the field, Mehaul O’Leary was the second to announce his Council candidacy last July followed by Andy Weissman in September and Dr. Luther Henderson 60 days later.
The Chosen Three?
What if they were to be the three who would succeed term-limited Alan Corlin, Steve Rose and Ms. Gross? We shall talk about them next time.
Among the presumed candidates, only three-term former Councilman Albert Vera is left.
Given his shifting stance on registering in the last election, I am betting 15 cents he will sign up and 16 cents that he won’t.
