Before getting down to business as a new Council member, Jim Clarke spent time on the celebration victory circuit after winning the fourth seat on the elected five-member City Council. Clarke, who loves Culver City, said he has already started working on the city’s business prior to even officially taking the oath of office.
“During campaigning, I wore an ‘I love Culver City’ button,” Clarke proudly said, who introduced himself as Jim for an interview, over a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop.
With a low voter turnout at 19.7%, Clarke, who garnered 2753 votes said he watched the election results at the City Tavern and later at the Council Chambers.
“There was a big-screen at City Tavern updating the results,” Clarke said. “Celebrations later that night began around 10:30 p.m., and I later met up with colleagues at Rush Street and stopped in at Meghan’s gathering. I finally made it home about 1:30 a.m., and running on adrenaline, I was still the first one at work the next morning.”
Jumping on the campaign trail immediately after filing candidacy papers in early January, notorious for his door-to door campaign approach, it was strong support from the community, endorsements from state and local elected officials, and local organizations such as the Culver City Chamber of Commerce and the Culver City Democratic Club that propelled Clarke over the finish line that helped the newly elected member win a seat on the Council when voters went to the polls April 10.
“During my campaign, I covered about 85 percent of the city just walking around,” Clarke said. “It served the purpose of putting a face to the name and gave residents a personal opportunity to voice their concerns.”
With his motto posted on his campaign website, ‘Listening to your concerns. Responding to your needs,’ the affable Clarke said he has a commitment to the residents and wants them to know that he listens to what they are saying about their hometown city.
“I was diligent about taking notes and I followed-up by writing letters to those individuals, letting them know I am listening to their concerns,” Clarke said.
As an avid supporter of the Culver City Education Foundation, Clarke found out from young families, outside the cost of housing, that one of their main concerns is the quality of the Culver City School system, notably since the recent demise of the Redevelopment Agency, resulting in $1.7 million in cuts.
“Most important to them is the good school system. Families move to Culver City because of the quality of the schools.” Clarke said. “I made a pledge to work with the school board.”
Another concern residents have is parking. Findings from a 2010 comprehensive parking study that offered recommendations, Clarke said he has several ideas about making it more efficient for people to enjoy an evening in downtown without having to deal with parking problems. He went on to say that residents are concerned, because it’s the employees working at nearby businesses who park on the residential side streets.
“The idea is to balance the ease of parking, protect the neighborhoods, and still develop the city,” Clarke said.
Clarke also learned while talking to the residents that the overall concern is to maintain the small-town character of Culver City.
“Even though the residents like the development of downtown, the concern is to maintain the small-town character of Culver City,” Clarke said.
Clarke cites several reasons why he jumped at the opportunity to join the City Council race when he found out that four seats were up for grabs.
“For someone who has been in politics, it was a lifetime opportunity,” Clarke said.
The San Francisco native explained another reason for entering the race is he draws inspiration from his father who also served in the political arena.
“Entering into the candidacy is a tribute to my dad who was elected to the City Council and then became mayor of Pleasant Hill, a San Francisco suburb, at age 78,” Clarke said.
Clarke, who has been a Culver City homeowner since 1977, took one of two hiatus’ away from Culver City to spend time in Northern California to be near his parents, because they were getting up there in years.
“It was a nice opportunity to be back in the area where I grew up,” Clarke said.
Another reason Clark jumped at the opportunity for a Council seat is because his job changed from being Director of Federal Relations for the City of Los Angeles, which involved long hours and a lot of travel to Washington, D.C. to his current position at the Mayor’s office, which allows for a regular schedule.
“The travel was a lot. The congressional leaders would often travel on the red-eye, arriving in D.C. in the early morning, working and then back on a plane later that night,” Clarke said. “I can now keep regular hours, which allows me to attend Council meetings.”
Currently, Clarke is the Director of Grants for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office for the City of Los Angeles, and participates in overseeing $611 million in federal stimulus funds.
Adding to his political resume, Clarke had a four-year stint in Washington, which accounted for his second hiatus away from Culver City, when he worked as chief of staff to two Los Angeles congressional representatives, Diane E. Watson and Brad Sherman, snapping up endorsements for his campaign from both.
Other key state and local endorsements included, U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, State Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Council Member Paul Koretz and numerous Culver City School Board members. Community organizations included Culver City Employees Association, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Los Angeles Chapter and the Southern California Americans for Democratic Action.
With a clear understanding of how government functions, Clarke said he plans to look outward for connections in terms of what he can bring to Culver City, because of his long-established relationships with Los Angeles’ 14-member congressional delegation, two U.S. Senators and other political figures.
“Because of my good contacts at the federal, county and state levels, I can look for grant opportunities,” Clarke said. “I am also familiar with congressional appropriations in terms of earmark projects, because we were responsible for bringing in about $10 million a year.”
Clarke, who graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Masters Degree in Public Administration after earning a Bachelor of Science degree from U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, has a long history of government experience.
Gaining additional governmental experience while working in the private sector, Clarke helped recruit world-class leadership talent at Korn/Ferry International where he spent 10 years as an executive recruiter, specializing in public agencies with city council members as clients.
Clarke spent 23 years on active and reserve duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, retiring as a commander, and is a graduate of the CORO Foundation’s public policy fellows program.
On the subject about the importance of non-profit organizations to a community, Clarke served as executive director of two non-profit organizations; The California Clean Money Campaign and the Southern California chapter of Americans for Democratic Action.
“Culver City does a good work in the non-profit field, especially with at-risk and special needs kids,” Clarke said. “We need to do a better job connecting people. One of the ideas is to create a central website, and maybe asking the community to step-up, and possibly approaching some well-to-do people to get involved by making contributions or putting together events.”
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