One of the wonderfully unexpected moments in hometown politics occurred shortly before the start of last night’s meeting of the Culver City Democratic Club at the Vets Auditorium.
Whether it was imagination or reality, when just-term limited City Councilman Gary Silbiger strode into the sparse gathering in the Rotunda Room, casual in a short-sleeved sport shirt, he looked amazingly relaxed, refreshed, renewed, even relieved.
Sixteen days after returning to private life, he flashed a wide smile when asked about life off-stage for the first time in eight years.
“Now I don’t have to look for my name in stories in online publications,” he said with a grin. “I can just look at the stories and concentrate on what happened at the meetings.”
He was, by far, the most criticized Councilman of his era for intrepidly advocating policies strongly unpopular, in most cases, with all of his colleagues. Now, the rancor that was aroused appears to be a faded memory.
