On Monday night, the City of Culver City welcomed two new members to the City Council, and installed its new mayor and vice mayor.
Following a hard fought campaign, four-year veteran council member and incumbent Meghan Sahli-Wells easily retained her slot on the council, winning in every precinct.
The freshmen members who joined Sahli-Wells, Jeff Cooper and Jim Clarke, were Thomas Aujero Small, an architectural writer who has previously served on the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission, and Goran Eriksson, an international business development consultant, former president of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce and former Chair of Culver City’s Finance Advisory Committee.
After taking the oath of office Small said he was both “thrilled and chastened,” by the honor bestowed upon him in representing Culver City residents, while Eriksson stated that the very idea of “an immigrant from Sweden ending up on [the city council] dais is mind boggling.”
The first order of business for the new council was to officially install its new vice mayor and mayor for their one year tenure, choosing Jeff Cooper and Jim Clarke, respectively.
Clarke called on his old high school friend and current judge for the Superior Court of Sacramento County, Judge David Abbott to issue his mayoral oath of office. Clarke told residents he would implement plans to have the community more involved in decisions by getting down “off the council dais and holding meetings in the community.”
While the evening was one of celebration for the new council, it was also bittersweet, as the City and residents bade farewell to outgoing Mayor and Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary and Andy Weissman who, after fulfilling two four-year terms on the council, have now been termed out.
Following a packed earlier reception for O’Leary and Weissman, it was still standing room only in council chambers as residents and officials bade farewell to two men who have become fixtures in the community.
Clarke referred to O’Leary as an “Irish mensch,” and Weissman, who has had a long career in politics, noted that the following morning would be “the first day in 32 years I haven’t had a city commission or city council meeting on my agenda. I have serious fears about withdrawal.”
The two were also honored with commendations by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, as well as from Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang who added some levity to the evenings proceedings by stating,“Thank god the county property assessor is here to liven things up.”
The newly installed council will hold its first official meeting in Culver City council chambers on May 9.
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