Making a Fresh Start
Ms. Evans loves juggling numerous redevelopment projects at the same time. Her most flamboyant improvements have been made Downtown, which has needed sprucing up since Culver City was born. City Councilman Steve Rose said that she has changed the face of the city tremendously, but a lot of that has to do with being in the right place at the right time. Susan came here after there had been years of discussion at City Hall about what we should do and how we should redevelop the city. This is where Susan deserves credit. She brought in a different staff with a different perspective from before. Because of the nature of their jobs, the members of Susans staff are government bureaucrats. But they think like entrepreneurs.
A Woman of Action More Than Talk
Philosophically, Ms. Evans introduced a new form of optimism, Mr. Rose said. He did not call her a risk-taker, but he came close. She would not let traditional rules block the economic development or the cultural development of the city, Mr. Rose said. It seems to me that in the 12 years before Ms. Evans arrived, a lot of infrastructure work was done. And there was discussion after discussion after discussion. They just went on. Susan took the discussion part and put it into Drive instead of Park. She animated Downtown. Other people had just talked about Downtown. She was ambitious, she was a visionary, she was a doer. Mr. Rose saluted Ms. Evans courage. She had absolutely no fear about making a mistake, the Councilman said. Her lack of fear set her apart. You can just sit and talk. That way, youll never have to make a decision, and you never have to worry about commiting an error. Susan is a leader of the baby boomer generation in government. She was not afraid to empower people. She was not afraid to go out and try things that were new.
Identifying Her Strengths
Mr. Rose said that Ms. Evans greatest ability was in empowering her staff to go out, search out the facts, bring back the information, and then review their findings with Susan. Mr. Rose shrugged off the noise from Ms. Evans critics. A person who does not create critics has done nothing, the Councilman said. When you ruffle feathers, you are accomplishing something. History will decide the details. Mainly, Mr. Rose was supportive of Ms. Evans manner of doing business. I agreed with her 85 percent of the time, he said. Some of her critics have forgotten their history. Susan is a very passionate person who believes in what she is doing. On occasion, that will get in the way of political reality, the whims and wishes of the community and the Redevelopment Agency Board. If that is the criticism I have of her, it is very small. To me, passion is something that cannot be taught. It is within. Passion is belief in a goal. Passion is belief in the future that ones knowledge, ones ability to choose staff, ones ability to make the correct choice is No. 1. We are not talking here about self-doubt.
Postscript
In view of Ms. Evans pending departure, the long lingering and controversial Washington-Centinela project will be finished by another administration. And her showcase project, the majestic office building/ground-floor-commercial architecture that will reconfigure the heart of Downtown, will not even be noticeably under way until after she is gone.