First in a series. 

From the new mayor’s opening utterances, it was plain the coming 12 months will be a year to remember.

After being elected mayor of Culver City at Monday night’s City Council meeting, Jim Clarke promptly demonstrated how seriously he wears the somber mantle of Hizzoner.

“As my first act,” he said, “I released all of the political prisoners. That was so I could open up the jail and put in the new political prisoners,” whom Mayor Clarke identified as citizens who politically disagree with him.

How should the new leader of City Hall be addressed?

“In Canada,” said Mr. Clarke, “the mayor is called Your Worship.”

Is that Hizzoner’s preference?

The widely traveled Mr. Clarke replied by noting that today marked the birthday of the mayor of Lethbridge, Alberta, a Culver City Sister City.

“I am going to go visit them at the end of May,” he said. “So I sent a birthday greeting to Your Worship. I told him I was hoping that title might catch on here in Culver City.

“At least for one year.

“The mayor said ‘I don’t stand on a lot of formality. Call me Chris.’ To which Mr. Clarke replied that he does. Therefore, he would choose to be addressed as Your Worship.

If Your Worship’s agenda for the coming year materializes, it will be remembered as a watershed occasion in Culver City history.

Already he is leaving imprints, less than 48 hours into his reign.

Mr. Clarke broke a venerable Culver City record by pitching a 1,928-word inauguration speech.

This followed his formal swearing-in by an old classmate from 50 years ago, black-robed Judge David Abbott of the Sacramento Superior Court.

As stars of the class of 1966 at Pleasant Hill High School, in the East Bay, Mr. Abbott was senior class president and the future Your Worship was student body president.

After surviving the swearing-in and nearly 2,000 words of oratory, 150 of Mayor Clarke’s closest friends adjourned down Culver Boulevard to Ken Kaufman’s Rush St. where they schmoozed the happy night away.

(To be continued)