California May Be Blue But Culver City Is Bluer

While the GOP was busy sweeping the nation in red on Tuesday, California and Culver City remained largely in the blue, voting for Democratic candidates across the ballot. 

In addition, Culver City voters bucked the trend on key ballot measures, choosing to bring on the toke with legal marijuana, give state parks extra ducats from upped vehicle license fees, and nix the need to pass state and local fees with a 2/3 vote.

"Culver City voted overwhelmingly Democratic, which is not terribly unusual, but it's even more one-sided than that," said Karlo Silbiger, vice president of the Culver City Democratic Club.  Out of the 27 Culver City precincts, Democratic candidates swept every precinct but one in Sunkist Park, where Republican candidate Steve Cooley won for attorney general.

Silbiger attributes Culver City's blue hue to the presence of the California Democratic Club in Culver City as well as to the efforts of the club to spread the word before the election.

Tom Camarella, former club president and a delegate of the California Democratic Party for the 47th Assembly District, said endorsement mailers were a crucial part of the strategy. "We have a pretty decent machine in the state, and we have a good reputation. So when we send out our mailers, people follow them. That's been a good tradition."

Out of Culver City's 25,000 registered voters, more than 52 percent cast ballots this midterm election, about on par with turnout statewide but higher than surrounding cities such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Here's a breakdown of the propositions where Culver City residents departed from the statewide vote, with commentary by Silbiger and Hanna Liebman Dershowitz, an advocate for Prop 19.

Proposition 19—Legalize Marijuana  

California—No: 54 percent | Culver City—Yes: 58 percent

Hanna Liebman Dershowitz, Co-chair of the legal subcommittee of the Prop 19 campaign:

"[Prop 19] was a real breakthrough in moving the debate forward. It really has made part of the mainstream marijuana debate and part of the international debate. It was a major goal of the campaign to bring the debate into the light of day.

"I think that the opposition was able to circulate a lot of misinformation that people were throwing around and were scared off by the 'saber-rattling' by the federal government. It was also a grassroots effort and didn't have the money to put a big advertising campaign out.  I think it was the right time to start the conversation and to accomplish as much as we did. I think that is the real win here, from our perspective."

, Culver City Democratic Club vice-president

"I think Prop. 19 was an interesting proposition. It was a good idea, written poorly. It allowed each county to come up with its own taxing method that would make it difficult to enforce.

"I think you see a lot of people who would have voted for it voted against it because it was written poorly."

Proposition 21: Car Tax for Parks

California—No: 58 percent | Culver City—Yes: 56 percent

 Silbiger

 "Proposition 21 was one of the closer proposition votes here. A lot of it has to do with political philosophy. People here value the state park service and are willing to spend the money. For a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet statewide, $18 is an unnecessary expense right now."

Proposition 24: Restore Business Tax Provisions

California—No: 58 percent | Culver City—Yes: 54 percent

Silbiger

"Prop 24 was surprisingly close in Culver City also. The campaign run against it was ingenious. They called it the 'jobs tax,' saying that there would be higher unemployment if it passed," he said. "In Culver City where we are so supportive of our school system we may have seen more value in paying for what needs to be paid for."

Proposition 26 : Require 2/3 Approval for State and Local Fees

California—Yes: 53 percent | Culver City—No: 64 percent

Silbiger

"Proposition 26 was also a tax issue. In Culver City it has to do with the priorities of making the state fiscally solvent, and they put that over any potential increase in fees."

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