A month after casting their ballots in the Culver City Unified School District Board of Education race, Culver City voters will soon turning their attention to the 2016 municipal elections.
And at least two familiar faces will be on the ballot.
Attorney Marcus Tiggs, a former Planning Commissioner who also served on the city’s Fiesta La Ballona Committee, announced his intention to run last month and will be hosting a barbeque in Tellefson Park from noon to 2 p.m. on Dec. 5.
And Councilwoman Meghan Sahli-Wells is holding a campaign kickoff event on Dec. 5 at 10714 Hepburn Circle from 2 to 4 p.m.
“We’ve just finished our second week of precinct walking,” said Tiggs, who ran for council in 2004 as a relatively unknown candidate but has since become more recognized in the city due to his tenure as a planning commissioner and his work on the Fiesta La Ballona Committee.
Tellefson Park is one block north of Sepulveda Boulevard at the intersection of Sepulveda and Venice Boulevard.
The municipal election, where three City Council seats will be up for grabs, is set for April 12.
Sahli-Wells, who was elected in 2012, has already racked up the endorsements of all of her council colleagues as well as from Rep. Karen Bass (D- Culver City) and several state elected leaders. The councilwoman is announcing her reelection bid after a recent successful stint as a campaign adviser to CCUSD Board Member-elect Kelly Kent, who won going away in the Nov. 3 school board race.
Sahli-Wells helped Kent navigate a campaign filled with nasty, personal attacks and win more votes than her competitors, Scott McVarish and board member –elect Anne Burke.
The terms of Vice Mayor Andrew Weismann and Mayor Micheàl O’Leary, elected in 2008, are ending. Sahli-Wells’ seat is also up for grabs.
If Tiggs is victorious on April 12, his candidacy will be a historic one. He would become the first African-American elected to the city council in Culver City.
In recent years, candidates for city council have begun their campaigns at earlier dates. Councilman Jeffery Cooper started running for election almost a year before the filing date in 2010. Councilman Jim Clarke announced his decision to run again for office eight months before the 2014 election.