Unchained from a team of perceived adversaries whom he believed were a little too happy, a little too enthusiastic in the way they thwarted his agenda every week for the last 6 years, Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger reacted the way other newly liberated men have in the past.
He hoped. to even the score for years of alleged mistreatment in one try.
Monday night marked the opening of a new City Council season, and Mr. Silbiger, long victimized in his own eyes, had pledged to friends and family, this Council season would be different.
It would be more congenial — and, most of all, he would acquire more power than he had been able gain in all of the years that had gone before.
Going for the Works
Scurrying to make up for dozens of lost opportunities when his adversaries were dominant on the City Council, Mr. Silbiger sought to win everything back in a single evening:
He tried to lock up two high offices and plum commission appointments.
To the astonishment of the ears of veterans who heard the news, Mr. Silbiger explored the possibility of cornering complete control of Culver City’s ruling body.
At City Hall, that means becoming Mayor and capturing the Chair of the Redevelopment Agency, an unprecedented whack at taking over.
Nationally, this is the equivalent of winning the Presidency of the United States and the Vice Presidency.
Settling for Less
Unheard of in Culver City, Mr. Silbiger was forced to settle for a more modest package.
In the rawest way, Mr. Silbiger is rankled that he alone among veterans of the City Council never has been able to obtain the perks others take for granted, to bathe in the waters of power that routinely go with a seat on the Council.
Encouraged by friends, family and his new philosophical partner on the Council, Chris Armenta, Mr. Silbiger was determined to score revenge his way, by monopoly if possible.
Long ago, Mr. Silbiger lost track of how many wrenchingly desirable commission/subcommittee appointments he blew because political rivals, who did not like him, blocked his path.
Hearing from a Rival
Steve Rose, who stepped down from the City Council on Monday because of term limits, was very upset when he heard of Mr. Silbiger’s lunge for power.
“Gary’s need for power is only surpassed by a favorite gimmick of his,” said Mr. Rose. “When he doesn’t know the answer to a question, he announces that there is not enough public input.
“Gary’s knowledge is not deep enough to sustain a pollywog.”
With a natural ally for the first time, in Mr. Armenta, capturing the seats he has yearned for, seemed tantalizingly within reach.
But when he was rebuffed in the exploration attempt to control the top two offices on the City Council, perhaps just temporarily, the strategy switched.
When nominations were opened for Mayor, Mr. Armenta, going against tradition, leaped into the fray with both feet.
Instead of merely nominating the most logical choice, Scott Malsin, the only one of the two holdovers who never has held the office, Mr. Armenta served up a double-decker.
After nominating Mr. Malsin, he did not even pause. He moved directly to nominate his friend Mr. Silbiger for Vice Mayor. Presumably, this would eliminate any debate over the controversial candidate for the No. 2 office.
Will He Win Mayor’s Job?
History has shown that when Mr. Silbiger is nominated, a debate surely follows.
But no one raised an objection to Mr. Armenta’s tactic, which merely represents a departure from tradition but is not unprecedented.
The vote to confirm was unanimous, seemingly paving the way for Mr. Silbiger to win the Mayor’s election next April.
But, sources say, it is not a cinch, as is usually the case.
Given the alignments and the unorthodox tendencies the Council showed on Monday night, colleagues may try to steer the office away from him.