by Gregory Valtierra, Newsletter Editor Culver City Democratic Club will be hosting John Kernick, District Representative for Holly Mitchell's office, as the speaker at our next General Meeting where we'll be tackling the changes Culver City faces with the closing of the Redevelopment Agency. Holly J. Mitchell (D – Culver City), was appointed by Speaker John Perez to a working group specifically to address the needs of cities who will suffer the consequences of the now dissolvent redevelopment agency. The working group held meetings in numerous districts across the state, listening to the needs of cities with projects ongoing and took into account their concerns. Additionally, Assemblymember Mitchell met with stakeholders of Culver City to address concerns that redevelopment has risen. The working group crafted AB 1585 – Redevelopment, with the lead authors being Speaker Perez and Asm. Mitchell. On May 9th John Kernick, district representative for Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, will give an overview of the AB 1585 and its current status as amended by the State Assembly. Prior to serving as District Representative, John Kernick attended the University of California Los Angeles and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science. During his career as a student he also worked as a teaching assistant and behavior therapist for Kayne-Eras Center located in Culver City. As a behaviorist Mr. Kernick worked with autistic students of all ages, integrating them into public schools while acting as the chief liaison between clients, parent groups, teacher groups, and administrations in LAUSD public and charter schools. As the District Representative for Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, Mr. Kernick has the pleasure of representing her on the West side of the Assembly District. He covers a geographical area that includes most of the district west of La Cienega Blvd., including West LA, Cheviot Hills, Rancho Park, Westwood, Culver City, Palms, Holmbly Hills, Beverly Hill Adjacent, and Mar Vista. John Kernick is also the chief liaison to the California Veterans Administration, UCLA & higher learning institutions, LAUSD and educational institutions, alcohol & drug abuse programs, Employment Development Department, the DMV, and social services including SSI & Aging. The Culver City Democratic Club General Meeting will be held 7PM Wednesday, May 9, at The Peace Center, 3916 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City.
Congratulations to Mehaul O'Leary and Andrew Weissman on their reelection to the City Council. They will be joined by our Culver City Democratic Club endorsed candidates Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jim Clarke. Jeff Cooper continues his term as a member of the City Council.
I would like to thank everyone involved in making the Culver City elections as successful as they were. The time and effort people gave for our community is priceless and our community is a better place for it. Our Democratic Club is proud of the candidates that we endorsed. Now we look forward to our candidates representing the community.
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Looking back on election day, April 10th, with six candidates aiming for the four seats on the City Council, the voters chose community activist Meghan Sahli-Wells and Los Angeles mayoral aide Jim Clarke as the newest members of the council. I'm proud of our community for making Meghan Sahli-Wells one of few women to be elected to the Council since 1917. The voters showed that they want diversity on the council. I know Meghan is passionate and is ready to represent the community. Many considered Jim Clarke a relative unknown as he campaigned. The Democratic Club and the voters saw something special in Jim. He was voted in on his first attempt at running for political office.
The final tally of the election:
Andy Weissman - 3,083
Meghan Sahli-Wells - 2,909
Mehaul O'Leary - 2,825
Jim Clarke - 2,753
Scott Malsin - 2,370
Stephen Murray - 965
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Final count 4,889 votes - 19.6% turnout.
As the mood of the Nation and our City continues to be uncertain due to the struggling economy, our incoming City Council members will face the city's budget crisis. Just as they needed our votes they now will need our support and participation as a unified community. A real significant financial issue facing the City is the closure of the Redevelopment Agency. As a collective community we are a force that can cause change.
In other election news, Culver City voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to increase hotel taxes. Measure X will increase the city's transient occupancy tax from the existing 12 percent to 14 percent. The increase will generate an additional $510,000 a year, according to the city.
We have another important election coming up. Please see the Club's endorsement for Tuesday June 5th Primary Election.
Don't Forget to Vote on Election Day!
by Sylvia Moore, 2nd Vice President At the April 11 General Meeting, the Culver City Democratic Club officially endorsed the following candidates and propositions for the June 5, 2012 primary elections: United States Senator - Dianne Feinstein State Assembly, 54th District - Holly Mitchell Los Angeles County Supervisor - Mark Ridley-Thomas Los Angeles County District Attorney - Danette Myers Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 3 - Craig Gold Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 65 - Shannon Knight Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 114 - Eric Harmon Proposition 28 (limits on state legislators' terms in office) - YES Proposition 29 (increase in the state tobacco tax to fund cancer research) - YES Los Angeles County Democratic Party County Central Committee: Jonathan Friedman, Terrence M. Montgomery, Loren Scott, R. "Ronnie Jayne" Solomon, Mollie "Lee" Welinsky, Jimmie Woods-Gray Click on the names above to go to the campaign web sites to see how you can volunteer and help get the vote out. Click on the names of the propositions for a summary of the proposed legislation. Congratulations to all of our CCDC endorsed candidates!
by Sylvia Moore, 2nd Vice President Tuesday night ended in a double victory for the Culver City Democratic Club's endorsed candidates for Culver City Council. In the six-candidate race for four open seats on the council, Meghan Sahli-Wells came in second place with 2,491 votes and Jim Clarke finished fourth with 2,348 votes. Meghan and Jim will be sworn in on April 23. Click on the links below for election night coverage: Culver City Patch - "Update: Weissman, Sahli-Wells, O'Leary and Clarke Win Council Seats" The Front Page Online - "Andy, Meghan, Mehaul and Jim in - Malsin Out"