Culver City Observer -

Monday night city council proposed allowing minors and non-registered voters on city commissions and boards. We at Protect Culver City are vocally opposed to the idea. We see it not as an extension of the franchise, but a disenfranchising of Culver City residents and voters by means of court-packing. Indeed, it’s court packing of the worst kind – by using impressionable children as political pawns.

Culver City Unified was already embroiled in scandal under Kelly Kent, when she used school district resources to organize a women’s march. This is not the only case. Mayor Meghan and others from her slate frequently use our schools as an organizing tool.

We made our cases known by e-mail. And our representative Anthony Rizzo gave our position on A-2 at the beginning of the meeting. Council had the exact reaction we expected. Even with all this, Alex Fisch claimed during the A-2 “I don’t see any opposition to this.” When vice-mayor Eriksson raised the issue of verifying residence status, Mayor Meghan brushed it off.

People should see this as par for the course for an agenda-driven council whose very inaugural meeting was a Brown Act violation. Mayor Meghan regularly uses outside agitators to support her, when she wants something passed. And the majority of council under her has, over and over again, callously shut out the will of residents. Indeed her machinations to revamp our government dance around the illegal.

And Fisch’s comments, while frustrating, are unfortunately quite expected. Indeed, this council sees no opposition to what they do, because they ignore opposition to what they do. We’ve already said there is no conversation with this council – indeed we formed our PAC over this very premise. Perhaps he won on this technicality, because we didn’t realize e-mail comments aren’t read aloud at meetings. But we’re learning.

Not that it matters.

Rather, the lesson should be for the other groups who are still hoping against hope that this council will have a conversation with them and listen to reason. We’re rooting for you, and if somehow you win a concession through conversation, we salute you.

But we think it’s futile. When people show you who they are, believe them. This council has plainly demonstrated they have an agenda – one that flies in the face of the better interests of our residents. And they will stop at nothing to get it. We’re already planning for a scenario where our rent control ballot initiative passes, and council will still ignore it. Because that’s who they are.

The only way to push our interests as residents of Culver City on this council is by electoral force. The only conversation we have is with our fellow residents. That means talking with our neighbors, circulating our ballot initiative and PAC literature, and publicizing scandals like with CCUSD.

We are confident that as we make our council’s actions more public, we will continue to grow and make our voices truly heard.