Where It Started
The high drama began just after City Councilman Alan Corlin was elected Mayor last night for the final year of his term and just before Councilman Scott Malsin was voted chair of the Redevelopment Agency.
On the occasion of the annual reorganization of the City Council and the Redevelopment Agency, the foregone conclusions of picking a new Mayor and Agency chair often are overshadowed by contentious subcommittee assignments.
Where Is the Remote?
Many subcommittee appointments are so arcane, so wonkish that only a mother could cherish them. If, after getting home, you told your spouse you were named to a coveted seat on the Information Technology/Telecommunications/Council Chambers Audio/Video System Committee, you would blow an hour of sleep just identifying it.
Two familiar storylines — separate but related — surfaced once again last night, right down to the final painful detail.
(b) In the second scenario, a potential change in policy on an emotional subject that was obvious to four members of the City Council appeared to elude the grasp of Mr. Silbiger.
New Mayor Corlin presided over the fairly snappy 45-minute process of doling out subcommittee seats on the 34 different subcommittees. As with numerous traditions, the Council adheres to what is known, oxymoronically, as a free-for-all style that is orderly.
“Doling out” may not be precisely accurate because each member calls out when a plum appointment comes along. The two holdover members may freely state they want to stay or a non-incumbent will make a pitch.
Advantage to Colleagues
Council observers say this practice usually places Mr. Silbiger at a disadvantage. His four seatmates typically perform more zealously in the open-market bidding.
During the seat bidding, Mr. Silbiger raised his voice twice in strident protest.
Most of the first 16 subcommittee assignments seemed to have been divvied up among new Vice Mayor Carol Gross, Councilman Steve Rose, Mr. Malsin and Mr. Corlin before the former Mayor protested.
Only Four Volunteer
The procedure was not a strategy. Members just spoke out when the spirit moved them. Mr. Silbiger mainly was silent. As a result, he did not have the lead position on one subcommittee.
“I think it would be fair for me — you talk about fairness — for me to have some position on one of these committees,” Mr. Silbiger said, sounding tentative.
That was too juicy of a setup for Mr. Malsin to pass on. “You have not put yourself forward,” he snapped. “I don’t think any of us were jumping at a couple of these (subcommittees). But we decided to take them anyway.”
Timing Is Off
When several assignments were then suggested to Mr. Silbiger, he said he had to decline because their meeting-times interfered with his teaching schedule at Santa Monica College.
He gave another reason for not embracing the committees proffered.
“I want to be able to work on the committees that I want,” Mr. Silbiger said, “not ones others don’t want.”
He never did seem mollified the rest of the evening, asking, forlornly, at a point: “Why don’t you like me?”
Was It a Misunderstanding?
The other major crisis involved Mr. Silbiger’s apparent misunderstanding of the City Council’s immediate-future intentions for three problematic committees, Martin Luther King Day, Fiesta La Ballona and Sister Cities.
The three groups are muscular and independent. Since the city now is being governed by a new Charter, four Council members harmoniously concluded a week ago it may be time to let each of the three operate on its own, without sending a Council delegate to meetings.
A New Resolve
At last week’s Council meeting, members spent an hour seeking to tighten up the proliferation and overlapping of committees. In that spirit, the status of the King, Fiesta and Sister Cities groups were mentioned in an incidental manner.
“This is a new era (under the Charter form of government), and these are new times,” Mr. Rose said.
Reassessment Time
“We need to take a fresh look at them,” Ms. Gross said. “We need to sort out what is being done (by these committees)in our name, what we support, and what we support financially.”
With the committee reorganization meeting due a week later, four Council members calmly agreed last Monday it was a good idea to retain the same Council reps on each of the three committees until May 14 when the Council will decide whether it wants to continue its relationship with them.
“I don’t understand,” Mr. Silbiger interjected. “I am still am very puzzled.”
An Unchangeable Viewpoint
He kept insisting that Council reps to the King group especially should be selected for one full year.
The onesided debate quickly devolved into a circular discussion that frustrated all five Council members.
Not surprisingly, King Day Committee partisans showed up in Council Chambers last night to echo the sentiments of their favorite Councilman, Mr. Silbiger,
Making a Pitch
They were allowed to voice opinions in the middle of the committee reorganization discussion even though their topic was not on the agenda.
Passionately, the activists urged the City Council to continue to support their activities. After investing time and energy, said Michelle Weiner, “it is a little deflating to think that in a month’s time you may decide to jettison this committee.”
Others spoke about the fruitful work of the King Day Committee, and what a unique benefit it was for the community.
Seeking a Second
At that po the third or fourth time that new Council reps to the King Day Committee should be immediately selected for a one-year term.
In defiance of the rules, he packaged his idea in the form of a motion.
He was unable to secure a “second” because it had been agreed since last week that the incumbents would remain seated until the Council determined the best outcome for the city.
If the silence was not a sufficient sign of opprobrium, Mr. Corlin added another. He said that a vote would not have been allowed anyway since the subject had not been agendized.
Frustrated, Mr. Silbiger shook his head.
COUNCIL NOTES — Once his election to the chairmanship of the Redevelopment Agency became formalized, Mr. Malsin showed his playful side. “This is a bright day for Culver City,” he grinned. “Mr. Rose’s reign of terror has come to an end”… At another point, when Mr. Silbiger was being selected Agency Vice Chair, Mr. Malsin observed, dryly, “Hearing no further cheap shots, I will call for a vote”…
A svelte new Mr. Rose is appearing these fine spring evenings on the dais in Council Chambers. He is tipping the now fun-to-look-at-scales at a feathery 229 pounds, down 45 from the start of his winning diet…
It was immediately obvious that last night was special because smartly dressed, shiny-faced family members turned out to congratulate their favorite City Council members on their new responsibilities…
