He believes in procedures that differ sharply from the style of now-retired Mayor Albert Vera. Folksiness is over, out the door with Mr. Vera.
Traditionally, Reorganization Night on the City Council is a quiet kickback affair. They scratch, they yawn and they shmooze a little as new committee assignments are formfully doled out. Form took a jab to the heart on Monday night.
Who Was the Last Mayor?
Even though the first hour of the meeting was devoted to waves of elaborate, emotional tributes to Mr. Vera, entering retirement after three terms on the Council, he was forgotten moments later when irascible members of the reconstructed Council hunkered down into their familiar slugging crouches.
Within minutes of winning an uncontested vote to rotate into the Mayor’s chair for the next twelve months, Mr. Silbiger found himself in a knockdown fight with Councilman Alan Corlin over a seat on the plum Light Rail Committee.
One year ago this month, under cloudy circumstances that never quite were clarified, Mr. Silbiger and Councilperson Carol Gross were appointed to the Light Rail Committee that offers twin whiffs of authority and prestige. The talk at the time, informally, was that the terms were for four years.
Early in the committee selection process last night, Mr. Corlin and Mr. Malsin — projected to be likely allies — both declared their strong interests in becoming Culver City’s new Light Rail representatives. Ms. Gross, who revels in her role on the committee, and Mr. Silbiger both strenuously objected, saying their selections still had years to run.
Harsh words were exchanged. Rhetorical restraint wore out in a finger-snap.
Ready? Set? Fight
After Mr. Corlin stated his preference for becoming the City Council’s delegate, Mr. Malsin spoke up, volunteering to be the alternate.
As if they were playing badminton while elaborately dressed up in football gear, the principal warriors, Mr. Corlin and Mr. Silbiger, swapped pointy barbs.
This would set up a bitter showdown that scarcely waned.
City Atty. Carol Schwab attempted to intervene as the referee, without marked success, which may not have been her fault. With what appeared to be a degree of uncertainty, owing to lawyer-driven language deemed — by other lawyers — to be foggy, Ms. Schwab seemed to indicate that it was acceptable to hold a new vote for Light Rail reps. ”We believe there is flexibility in the appointments,” she said.
Eventually, after heatedly arguing and getting their glasses steamed up, the newest voting bloc on the Council — Steve Rose, Mr. Corlin and Mr. Malsin — teamed up to defeat the old team of Ms. Gross and Mr. Silbiger, three to two.
How much the vote was worth soon was called into question.
If Ms. Schwab’s conditional ruling prevailed, tentatively validating the evening’s vote, Mr. Silbiger said that he was, effectively, going to ignore it. He would attend the next meeting of what is known as the Joint Powers Authority regardless of who considered him on or off the committee. Mr. Corlin snapped that if he kept his word, he was setting a remarkably poor example in his first minutes as mayor. ”I am not too sure I would start off my first night as Mayor saying you’re not going to pay attention to a vote,” Mr. Corlin said. “It sends the wrong message, at least to me.” Mr. Silbiger protested that “it isn’t lawful to take an unlawful vote.”
Mr. Corlin insisted that he and Mr. Malsin, by dint of the vote, had become the “duly elected” representative and alternate on the Council’s Light Rail Committee. Recognizing Mr. Silbiger’s contention that he and Ms. Gross still were on the committee, Mr. Corlin wondered what Roberts Rules of Order says about “dueling representatives.”
Awaiting a Sacramento Ruling
At length, Mr. Silbiger said he would await a ruling from a legislative counsel in Sacramento to determine whether he and Ms. Gross still were empowered to participate in meetings and deputized to represent Culver City.
“Does a legislative analyst (in Sacramento) have authority over an elected body (namely, the City Council)?” Mr. Rose inquired of Ms. Schwab.
Into the midst of these fiery exchanges stepped Mr. Malsin with a compromise proposal that ultimately was passed (three to two). Mr. Malsin’s solution was that the Corlin-Malsin team that just had been voted onto the committee take office at the May 8 Council meeting “unless we receive information this action has not been properly taken.”
As the point man for many of the night’s disagreements, Mr. Silbiger scarcely had time to rest up and re-charge in the interim. A renewed round of bickering may have been triggered by Mr. Silbiger’s firm suggestion that each of his colleagues identify five committee assignments they ardently wanted. Believing that a free-for-all was being encouraged, Mr. Corlin objected to the methodology, and that was the next argument.
Malsin Forges Through
The next plum assignment to be debated was the Budget Subcommittee, where Mr. Silbiger and Mr. Rose have been serving. Enter Mr. Malsin who said, “I am interested in serving because I could bring a lot to it.” After both Mr. Silbiger and Mr. Rose agreed this was a critical juncture in the budgetary process, possibly an awkward time to change the makeup, Mr. Silbiger offered to step down next year, paving the way for Mr. Malsin. Ms. Gross made a motion to retain the two present members, but it lost three to two to what was becoming a familiar voting bloc (Mr. Rose, Mr. Corlin, Mr. Malsin). Mr. Rose made a motion for a pairing that included him and Mr. Malsin. It passed.
That was Mr. Malsin’s sweetest moment of triumph — until the next vote, for two delegates to the Economic Development Committee. Mr. Rose volunteered, and Ms. Gross made a motion that she should be on the team with him. By now, a steady pattern was forming. The motion lost, three to two. A moment later, Mr. Malsin proposed that he join Mr. Rose on the Economic Development Committee. His idea passed, three to two, and the assertive rookie had his second surprise, hardball conquest. His term was hardly an hour old.