Facts, Trust, and Culver City.
December 14, the Culver City Democratic Club held a “State of the City” online event with outgoing Mayor Alex Fisch. During the Q&A section, Mr. Fisch called into question the city’s work on our state-mandated Housing Element, which is currently up for review by HDC.
When a constituent asked him why Christopher Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor would write a November 2020 email that he was on calls with Culver City officials who “want guidance on how to write a prohousing housing element,” and that they are “trying to monitor and control their consultants,” Mr. Fisch made some misstatements about the hiring of Raimi + Associates. Raimi + Associates is the consultant team who was contracted by the City to work on the General Plan Update (GPU) and Housing Element. The consultants were awarded the contract after the City released a Request for Proposal, commonly known as an RFP.
Specifically, Mr. Fisch said, “… there were no competitive bids. We didn't get two responses to our RFPs. Not one.”
This is a factually inaccurate account. According to city records, Mr. Fisch himself participated in the selection process, notably on January 24, 2019, and again on January 28, 2019. Moreover, on January 28, after Councilmember Daniel Lee raised the motion to approve Raimi + Associates, Mr. Fisch seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to select Raimi + Associates.
At that same meeting, Mr. Fisch said, “I’m inclined to vote for Raimi also,” and “My vote is for Raimi.”
We do not know why Mr. Fisch said that the City of Culver City did not receive competitive bids. The numbers are clear: the city received 9 proposals, the subcommittee (that included Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells and Mayor Thomas Small) narrowed the candidates down to four, and from those interviews recommended that the City Council interview the top two candidate teams. Raimi + Associates was subsequently awarded the contract after full-council interviews and deliberations. In addition to Sahli-Wells, Small, Fisch, and Lee, Goran Eriksson was also on the council.
Here is the timeline of events regarding the city’s RFP and RFQ process for hiring consultants:
When a constituent asked him why Christopher Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor would write a November 2020 email that he was on calls with Culver City officials who “want guidance on how to write a prohousing housing element,” and that they are “trying to monitor and control their consultants,” Mr. Fisch made some misstatements about the hiring of Raimi + Associates. Raimi + Associates is the consultant team who was contracted by the City to work on the General Plan Update (GPU) and Housing Element. The consultants were awarded the contract after the City released a Request for Proposal, commonly known as an RFP.
Specifically, Mr. Fisch said, “… there were no competitive bids. We didn't get two responses to our RFPs. Not one.”
This is a factually inaccurate account. According to city records, Mr. Fisch himself participated in the selection process, notably on January 24, 2019, and again on January 28, 2019. Moreover, on January 28, after Councilmember Daniel Lee raised the motion to approve Raimi + Associates, Mr. Fisch seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to select Raimi + Associates.
At that same meeting, Mr. Fisch said, “I’m inclined to vote for Raimi also,” and “My vote is for Raimi.”
We do not know why Mr. Fisch said that the City of Culver City did not receive competitive bids. The numbers are clear: the city received 9 proposals, the subcommittee (that included Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells and Mayor Thomas Small) narrowed the candidates down to four, and from those interviews recommended that the City Council interview the top two candidate teams. Raimi + Associates was subsequently awarded the contract after full-council interviews and deliberations. In addition to Sahli-Wells, Small, Fisch, and Lee, Goran Eriksson was also on the council.
Here is the timeline of events regarding the city’s RFP and RFQ process for hiring consultants:
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We hope that Mr. Fisch retracts his comments. It is important that constituents trust that the statements council members make are supported by facts. Otherwise, why would we believe that the decisions they make are in the community’s best interest?
Culver City Neighbors United
Culver City Neighbors United