Re “Zirgulis and Abrams — Should They Drop Out of the Race?”
The editor of thefrontpageonline.com suggested last week that Gary Abrams and Mr. Z should withdraw from the campaign for School Board.
Now we all know that Ari Noonan is in the tank for Scott Ziedman and Laura Chardiet. That doesn't mean we are all going to curl up in a ball and call it quits.
Mr. Noonan knows very well that Mr. Abrams and Mr. Z are not quitters.
We wonder what the point was in his suggestion.
I'm not going to attempt to speak for Mr. Abrams, but one reason I am running for office is to shake things up, to try and make the public aware of what is really going on in our School District.
For one thing, there is a lot of waste and inefficiencies. We spend too much money on excessive lawyer fees ($120,000 spent to prevent a woman with an autistic child from getting the care she needs), consultants and outside services that could be done in-house.
Another problem is the bureaucratic bumbling, stumbling, delays and inaction by the School Board. Case in point. We could have had solar panels installed over one year ago and have had them financed by Chevron Energy Solutions. Instead we are now looking at paying over $2 million from our capital fund to finally put solar panels in.
The most pitiful inaction of the Board is allowing the Natatorium swimming pool to be stagnant and deteriorating unused for the last 19 years.
Mr. Abrams and Mr. Z will not lose this election because of our ideas. I will bet we will get more votes per money contributed — even without the support of the two political machines that run this town.
It is unfortunate that only 10 to 15 percent of the voters participate in this School Board election. But you know what? That's just the way the political machine wants it to be.
You see the political machines control or have influence on about 2,500 hardcore supporters who do vote in some ways like the Tammany Hall political machine of an earlier period.
When only 3,000 to 4,000 people vote, they are guaranteed to have the candidate they support win.
If the Nov. 8 election were held during a general national election when 66 percent of the electorate were to vote, I believe I would have a good chance to win.
In these trying economic times, Culver City needs a person who is an activist muckraker with new ideas and can get the job done.
Mr. Zirgulis may be contacted at zirgulisr@yahoo.com
