As the Los Angeles Times today amped up its campaign to get City Controller Wendy Greuel elected mayor this spring, primarily because she is a besieged liberal millionairess valiantly fighting off the demons of low-class sexual prejudice, Ms. Greuel niftily was upstaged by another non-man at last evening’s mayoralty forum inside of vast Sinai Temple, Westwood.
Before yet another crowded room for the five contenders, David Wolpe, Sinai’s high-profile senior rabbi and the moderator, wittily and inventively converted what could have been an ordinary late-campaign evening into a head-snapping bell-ringer.
Posing the most attention-borrowing non-policy question of the marathon run-up to the March 5 primary, Rabbi Wolpe could not resist a juicy setup line.
Go Ahead and Vote Publicly
“Pursuing questions that may tempt you to be evasive,” he said, drawing a quick, crowd-sized titter, “let me ask you:
“If you were not in the race, which opponent would you vote for and why?”
“Ooooooooh,” went the taken aback audience of mature, well-informed Jews, breaking into an endorsing burst of applause.
Whom should the candidates choose?
Even if it felt as if most of them delivered public relations-approved answers, the reasoning would be intriguing to understand.
Do you tab your weakest rival because a boost to him or her can’t hurt you?
Are you motivated to select that person to deflect the klieg lights from the obvious pick(s), if only for a moment, so as not to further aid your strongest threat?
Jackpot?
Arguably yes.
Four of the five candidates, without pausing, pressed the Option A button, their softest rival.
“Ms. Greuel,” said Rabbi Wolpe, “you are first.”
Spell It Same, Front and Back
Fittingly, the City Controller was not at a loss for word.
“Wow,” she said.
“That is why I come to services. You always challenge us.
“Let’s see. I guess I would have to say Jan Perry because Jan and I have worked together over the years. She is someone who is a fighter. She has done a good job of looking at jobs downtown (her City Council district) and creating those jobs. She has been a fighter for her community. She is someone who doesn’t take no for an answer. We do have a chance to elect the first woman mayor of Los Angeles, and that would be another reason.”
Among those 97 words by Ms. Greuel, if there was a persuasive reason buried among them, it eluded every person in Barad Hall.
Then it was the turn of the field’s quintessential diplomat, City Councilman Eric Garcetti, smooth as scalded butter. Some polls bracket him as a co-favorite with bias-battling Ms. Greuel.
Alert baloney-catchers in the audience kept their baskets elevated to intercept flying debris.
“Jan Perry,” he blurted out, sharing Ms. Greuel’s motivation. “She now gets two votes.”
Aw, Shucks
Modestly, Councilperson Perry, not coincidentally seeming to be running in the cellar or on the bottom step in polling, lowered her eyes and smiled.
But Mr. Garcetti did not want certain non-selectees to take offense.
“I really admire Kevin James,” he said, “his brains, and Emanuel (Pleitez) for his fierceness, his focus and his hard work.
“But Jan, on a personal level, is someone who inspires me. Lots of times in a race like this, we count people out. I have taken a lesson from her, that she fights for what she believes in.”
The Garcetti nuances – some would call them patronizing – cried out like lightning and thunder.
Showing that this contest of choices was not a game of Solitaire, that she could play, too, Ms. Perry named her basement roommate, the very promising 29-year-old Mr. Pleitez, born of an immigrant mother in South Los Angeles before moving over to the East Side. (“We were so poor,” Mr. Pleitez says, “that we didn’t even qualify for Section 8 housing.”)
May I Call You Mr. Mayor?
“Emanuel, I admire your intellect. You inspire me because of your youth, your enthusiasm. I admire the fact you have come so far. You are a great role model, not only for us but for young people of your generation.”
With one tick remaining on the timer’s clock, Ms. Perry added, who knows why, “Kevin makes me laugh a lot – even though we are very different politically.”
Mr. James restored order, forming the genuinely most persuasive argument. “If you are keeping count,” he said, “it would be Jan Perry. “Ms. Perry will stand up and expose what she saw, and what I might characterize as corruption, backroom deals. And there was her frustration over the redistricting (when her Council district furtively was chopped up), and she was willing to deal with that.”
Mr. Pleitez, seeing no need to plumb for even more sweet-scented details, said, succinctly, “My vote also is for Jan Perry,” sparking laughter, smiles and applause.”
Then he leaped to his thrusting message:
“First of all, I would like for all of us to work together post-election to go head-on with these problems.
“I think Jan Perry has shown a lot of courage on the City Council. Jan Perry has been willing to say when she has made mistakes, and she is willing to address them. That takes a lot of courage for any leader, especially in a public role, to be able to say that. Councilmember, my vote would be for you.”
(To be continued)
