Smiling Jay Garocochea, best known in Culver City as a cop – he spent 20 years with the Police Dept. – has emerged within the past month as the longest shot in the April 12 City Council election.

There is no doubt about the sign on the bus he is riding to Election Day.  “My platform is public safety,” Mr. Garocochea said — not surprisingly – in his first newspaper interview of the campaign.

“It is the core to the city, and the city can build off that platform.”

Speaking of non-surprises, Mr. Garocochea has been endorsed by the police union, the Police Officers Assn., and he is awaiting a verdict from the Fire Dept.

Defining “public safety,” the candidate means “keeping the training and the equipment the best it can be for our guys. That way we can attract good candidates, laterals (transferring in from other communities) so that we have the smartest, the brightest and our department can maintain the level of service we have become accustomed to.”

Without a “good” police department and fire department, says Mr. Garocochea, “a community doesn’t work.”

Inarguably, he faces the tallest odds of any of the seven contenders for the three open Council seats.

“Almost everybody has a head start,” Mr. Garocochea says, “and some of them have run before. They definitely are in front of me on that level.”

No matter how modern the world becomes, hometown campaigning has not changed so much from a century ago.

Says Mr. Garocochea of his modest profile:

“It is word-of-mouth, getting out there, walking the streets, knocking on doors, letting everybody know who I am, how long I served the city, and that I want to continue to serve the people.”