Business owner, Civil Service Commissioner and lifelong Culver City resident Albert Vera officially pulled papers Monday to appear on the April 2018 City Council ballot.
Vera met with the City Clerk and made his intent to run for one of two available seats on the Council that will be vacated by Cooper and Councilman Jim Clarke, who are both termed out.
“Albert simply has a heart of gold, and I am honored to be supporting him in his run for City Council,” supporter Ira Diamond said. “I know we can count on him to always do what is right, represent all of our interests fairly and make improving our neighborhoods his number one priority.”
“I am anxious to bring my business experiences to City Hall,” Vera said. “We need to be smart about our city’s finances, but we also have to focus on important issues like attainable housing for working professionals, public safety for all of our residents and intelligent ways of dealing with traffic, transportation and mobility.
“We need to move our city forward by working together to address our challenges and take advantage of the opportunities we have before us. We need to balance economic development with the special qualities that make Culver City unique. I know that I can do that.”
Vera said his vision for Culver City’s future includes focusing on the need for attainable housing for seniors and young professionals, support for the city’s protective services and the need to be smart about traffic and development.
“We have attracted some great high-tech companies, brought our city a new public transportation hub and seen lots of positive development, but all that success comes with a price,” he said. “We need to make sure that development is done correctly. We need to take care of the less fortunate. And we need to do that without constantly coming to our residents to increase taxes.”
“I am supporting Albert for some very simple and basic reasons,” Mayor Jeff Cooper said. “He understands our city and has been committed to it for many years: not only by carrying on the great family tradition of being a giving person, but by rolling up his sleeves and getting involved as a volunteer on many committees, with many non-profit organizations, and is even serving our city currently as a Civil Service Commissioner.”
Vera, whose father served 12 years on the City Council from 1992-2000 and from 2002-2006, said he hopes to give back to the community that supported him and his family through good times and bad by serving on the Council and guiding the city as it takes on future challenges.
“Knowing Albert and his generosity, this is an ideal opportunity for him to expand his participation in the city he really loves,” said friend, Kimberly Griffin.
Vera is a member of the Culver City Exchange Club and has served on both the Culver City Landlord/Tenant Board and the Culver City Civil Service Commission, where he currently serves as part of the five-member commission charged with advising the City Council on all matters concerning Human Resources administration.
For more information about Vera and his campaign, visit www.veraforcouncil.com.
