First in a series 

The opposite profiles of debuting City Council candidates was as striking as thumping a bass drum Sunday afternoon when accomplished attorney Alex Fisch stepped smartly into the Culver City political limelight for a maiden voyage none of the fired-up attendees will forget.

A handsome double for Brian Williams of MSNBC, the tall, strapping Mr. Fisch is so articulate he makes Mr. Williams sound like a mumbler.

Before Mr. Fisch spoke, his most eloquent advocate, Vice Mayor Thomas Small, set the scene in the noisily crowded second story of a glass-framed business on Washington Boulevard.

“We have an amazing turnout at the kickoff for Alex Fisch’s campaign,” said Mr. Small.

“The huge room is full – more than a hundred – and here is what I think is so amazing. It is filled with people who are not the regulars we usually see for political events.

“As I look around, there are both younger and older people. A lot of folks we know, but there are a lot we don’t know,” said Mr. SmaIl.

The vice mayor has known Mr. Fisch for “many years, and I can tell you he is very levelheaded, approachable, a common-sense guy.

“He has a terrific depth of understanding of urban issues,” a topic that also is Mr. Small’s specialty.

“He understands urbanism, of how development works, of how traffic works. He has been studying these for a long time, and he knows a tremendous amount about all of them.”

This is personal, you understand.

“This is a subject about which I have some expertise,” said Mr. Small. “I immediately recognized in Alex that the conversations go to a very high level.”

(To be continued)