As we approach tomorrow’s election for two seats on the City Council, I have been reflecting not only on what I am reading in the papers, but what I hear from my friends and neighbors.
Many are telling me is that they value and trust Jeff Cooper’s commitment to the community and his business acumen in representing our community’s interests.
Jeff Cooper has decades of community-building experience without boundaries or ideology.
He has shown me through actions that he is as likely to understand the viewpoints of young single professionals considering Culver City as a destination for their first live-work creative space as he is to know a 50-plus-year resident’s name.
He respects all of the people who share our neighborhoods to make Culver City a special place we call “home.”
It says much about Jeff’s character that he does not bring a set-in-stone agenda to the voters so much as he is willing to show us that experience, and a formidable intelligence, can be combined with a desire to serve. On this Election Eve, I would like to share a story that sums up why I trust Jeff Cooper to speak on behalf of the community he is seeking to serve.
In December, there was an item on the Cultural Affairs Commission agenda that included, in one small line, a statement that recommended the commission approve moving the handicapped section from the side of the stage to the back of the center row.
This seemingly simple statement would have affected many disabled and elderly people who have limited mobility.
Jeff immediately saw the unintended consequences of this well-meaning recommendation.
He was very prompt in working with me and Dr. Jay Shery, the Disability Committee Chairman, to bring it to the city staff’s attention before the meeting.
This simple act helped foster more dialogue between all city departments and include the DAC early on in discussions on a variety of issues.
There were no others at the meeting. There was no publicity.
But it did prove to me that Jeff Cooper is ready to assume the sometimes heavy burden of sitting on the Council and making use of his foresight and compassion to keep Culver City the place we all call home.
Ms. Yanda may be contacted at cyanda@gmail.com
