It seems to some of Andy Weissman’s friends that the entirety of his life has been prologue for the official announcement that he issued this morning from his law offices in the Meralta Building:
In January, he will become a candidate for the City Council election in April when three of the five seats will come open as the result of term limits.
Widely regarded as the busiest, most prominent, most active, most involved citizen who is not on the City Council, Mr. Weissman brings sui generis credentials to the campaign that will start in earnest in 90 days.
[img]8|left|Candidate (and grandfather) Andy Weissman with grandsons Jacob, left, and Luke.||no_popup[/img]
Crediting his father Alvin, also a lawyer, with modeling for him in dedicating his life to service to the community, Mr. Weissman is or has been a member of more commissions than the rest of the candidates combined — unless a 200-year-old man eventually enters the race.
Since 1981 when he was 31 years old, Mr. Weissman has belonged to and/or led 19 boards. He won the most abundant kudos two years ago as chair of the Culver City Charter Review Committee, a task that was compared to herding cats or trapping smoke with one hand.
About Style
Adroitly, the attorney who specializes in moderate, quiet-ish, balanced but firm-handed leadership that is the antithesis of demonstrability, captained the disparate Charter Reform group to a successful conclusion. Several critical changes were made in Culver City’s constitution without rupturing the fabric of the community.
He joins an early — but destined to expand — field that includes City Clerk Christopher Armenta and business owner Mehaul O’Leary.
Starting Point
Since the most recent City Council election a year and a half ago, increasingly ripe rumors have swirled along Culver and Washington boulevards.
They suggested that Mr. Weissman, regarded by partisans as the most eligible and most uniquely qualified contender, make a second bid for City Hall.
The Opening Try
The first was 21 years ago when he was a relative sprite of 36, still well short of posting the broad civic leader reputation he forged during the ‘90s and the new century.
In the 1986 race, Mr. Weissman joked this morning, he completed a sort of family daily-double. Before winning two terms on the School Board, his father made his only run for the City Council in the early 1960s, losing to Joe Lawless. A little more than two decades later, the junior Mr. Weissman lost to Mr. Lawless’s daughter, Jozelle Smith.
He Has Been There
Campaigning will not be a new experience. Since the late 1980s, he has worked in numerous, and winning, races, not least a later bid by Ms. Smith.
The seed of the new campaign, Mr. Weissman said, began with other persons, even though the subject long has found a comfortable resting place in his mind.
“Once the election ended a year ago last April,” he said, “and you had three lame-duck Council people, the conversation began about what was going to happen the next time around.
The Ignition Spark
“I was approached by lots of people. They wanted to know if I was interested in running. I have always been interested in running. I always have been interested in politics in Culver City.
“My father was involved in the city much like I am involved in the city. He was a lawyer who came to Culver City in 1952 from New York. He was a charter member of Temple Akiba. He worked with people on their City Council campaigns, ran for City Council once, he was on the School Board, he was a member of the Jaycees back in the day when the Junior Chamber of Commerce was an entity.
“Growing up in Culver City, that kind of volunteerism got inculcated in me. It just came naturally. My father’s example example was just out there. He never actually articulated it.
Why the Law?
“He never pushed me to become a lawyer, and he never pushed to become involved in all the things I have been involved in for 30-plus years. I do these things because I enjoy them.”
Did the son become an attorney because his father was?
“Probably,” Mr. Weissman said.
“When I got to 11th grade chemistry, I quickly decided I was not going to become a doctor. The only reason I got through chemistry was because I had a valedictorian as my lab partner. If not for him, I probably would still be in chemistry.
Then There Was the Alternative
“But I was always able to read, to talk and to do verbal kinds of things. I gravitated to the law, again, because of the atmosphere I grew up in. I used to work from time to time in my father’s office. Sometimes I would go to court with him. For me, it was a natural transition.
“I do law because I enjoy it. I enjoy helping people. In my civil practice, I enjoy doing the transactional kinds of cases. I like to problem-solve.”
Being a family man with a thriving law practice and a demanding circle of civic obligations, Mr. Weissman said apportionment of his remaining time posed a challenge.
Clearing Time
“This was a real dilemma that weighed heavily on my decision,” he said. “The process was talking with my wife, making sure we were comfortable with the time it was going to take to do the job properly.
“You have Council meetings, preparation and community events. I do many of those things now — whether it’s being Chair of the YMCA, President of the Downtown Business Assn., being a member of the Rotary Club, or the Planning Commission. Among all of those, my time is hardly my own anyhow.
“To some extent,” Mr. Weissman said, “ the Council activities would be a tradeoff for some of the other events.
“(My wife) Doneil and I talked about it. She was comfortable with it. And here I am. She has been very encouraging all along. She knows I enjoy doing this kind of stuff.”