Public servant, neighborhood leader and Chair of the Culver City Committee on Homelessness Alex Fisch kicked off his campaign for Culver City Council with an event on Nov. 5 at the home of Len Dickter, chair of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission.
“In the thirteen years my wife and I have called Culver City home, we’ve experienced the strong neighborhoods; great schools, and passionate, committed people that make our city an exemplary community,” Fisch said in his press release, “[and] an amazing place to raise our children.
“We’ve also witnessed and been part of the grassroots power of community – friends and neighbors banding together, and joining with public officials, to embrace change responsibly and in ways that serve the common good. Now I want to bring that same sense of strength, transparency and common purpose to our city government,” he said.
Following a successful career in private law practice, Fisch currently serves the people of California as a Deputy Attorney General with the State Attorney General’s office, protecting our health and safety by safeguarding our air, water and other natural resources.
Locally, Fisch works to promote policies in Culver City that prepare us for the challenges ahead, while empowering our community to determine its own future. He serves as a member of the Rancho Higuera Neighborhood Association board of directors, and an active member of BikeCulverCity.
Throughout his career and public activity, Fisch has effectively combined passionate, well-informed advocacy with consensus building to help ensure positive outcomes that stand the test of time.
Two ideas form the core of Fisch’s vision for Culver City.
“First, that our greatest resource is our diverse and talented people – residents, students, parents, teachers, business owners, employers and workers,” he said in a press statement. “And second, that public health and safety, and environmental health go hand in hand with prosperity.
“Alex understands that we must foster a vital community that works for all residents and businesses,” said current Culver City Vice-Mayor Thomas Small. “[He shares my belief that] we need to welcome responsible economic growth, public transportation, and infrastructure projects that promote environmental health and safety.”
Fisch’s experience makes him uniquely qualified to help lead our city’s efforts on two critical issues – protecting the public’s health and safety from the hazards of unsafe oil drilling; and making housing and social services more accessible for all our citizens.
“Professionally, Alex defends vital environmental laws for the state of California,” said former Mayor and current City Council member Meghan Sahli-Wells. “His deep understanding of complex regulations and his commitment to protect our community from the effects of oil drilling are just what we need on the Culver City Council today.”
Fisch believes that dealing responsibly with the nation’s largest urban oil field requires a fracking ban and planning and advocating now for a future without oil production in Culver City. “I will not take any money from oil interests or other corporate interests,” Fisch pledged. “We must not allow any special interest to erode the power of Culver City residents to determine our own future.”
As chair of Culver City’s Committee on Homelessness, Fisch is leading the charge to respond proactively to the housing crisis enveloping our community, while preserving our diversity and neighborhood charm. He helped develop programs to prevent homelessness for Culver City families and individuals, get people off the streets and into homes, and keep seniors in their homes, according to his press statement.
He is currently working on an ordinance for Culver City that will provide greater economic opportunities to homeless individuals transitioning into the workforce, small local businesses, and disabled veteran-owned businesses.
Fisch believes that the key to Culver City’s long-term success is ensuring a more democratic, responsive and transparent government. “By working to oppose Culver City Measure CA, I helped ensure that oversight of the police and fire chiefs remains in the hands of the City Council, who must answer to the people,” Fisch noted. “By making community meetings more participatory and empowering people to participate in their governance, we can build consensus that solves problems and improves our lives today, while responsibly budgeting for the future.”
For more information, visit his campaign website at AlexFisch.com