On April 10,
2012, Meghan Sahli-Wells was elected to a full term on the Culver City
Council. After four years of grassroots
activism, Meghan begins a new kind of service in our community. What will inform her leadership as a newly
elected official?
One
significant influence is the family of strong women that Meghan comes
from! A suffragist on her father’s side and
Meghan’s maternal grandmother, Dr. Eleanor Haburton, are particularly inspiring.
In the 1940s, Eleanor was the first female editor of a small town Missouri
newspaper who was initially denied the job. After the male editor hired instead
of Eleanor proved inadequate to the task, Eleanor went to the newspaper owner’s
home early one Sunday morning to ask why he didn’t want a woman to take charge;
the bathrobe-garbed man who came to the door finally bowed to her persistence and
offered her the job as editor that very day. Eleanor also pushed to desegregate
Orlando dime store lunch counters in the 1960s.
She and an African American friend whom she worked with at Valencia
Community College had to wait hours for a waitress to take their coffee order;
they always left immediately after being served and paying, declining to drink
a single drop.
Meghan’s
activism began during her elementary and junior high school years when she was
growing up in Culver City. Her
involvement with the L.A. Student Coalition as an anti-apartheid activist, AIDS
walk participant and NOW demonstrator for reproductive rights, along with time
spent registering voters (before turning 18), were all in keeping with the
example set by her forebears. Meghan’s
mother and grandmother passed on their
love of reading, language and the arts. Meghan
developed a keen interest in the world beyond Culver City and L.A. while
studying at UCLA and in France. She traveled
extensively while in college and as a sometime volunteer in Madagascar, Île Sainte-Marie, Burkina Faso, Ghana,
Mali, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Togo. Meghan lived in France for 15 years where she
met her husband, Karim, and gave birth to their two sons, Emilien and Lucien,
before returning with her family in 2007 to her childhood home in Culver City.
So what can
we look forward to now that Meghan is a member of our City Council?
- Support for public
participation—Meghan
considers her electoral victory a mandate for Culver City residents to
speak up and be heard. As an
attentive listener who works well with people of diverse perspectives, Meghan
will engage community members in thoughtful dialogue about pressing issues
so that our Council can make sound decisions informed by residents’
concerns.
- Strengthening the
democratic process—as a Councilmember, Meghan is committed to reaching out to youth
and areas of our city that have felt ignored. Meghan would like us to take a serious
look at consolidating our elections to improve the pitiful 19.7% turnout
of our most recent election and to save money.
- Harnessing the tremendous expertise found in Culver City—involving more community members to identify solutions to challenges we are facing will result in improved outcomes. Meghan wants to explore ways to utilize the collective genius of our community; this can also save the city money.
·
Championing sustainability—Meghan believes that there will be
interest in moving forward on a host of environmental and transportation
measures within the city’s purview, given that four Councilmembers received
support from the L.A. League of Conservation Voters during the recent election.
Meghan recommends starting with the adoption of a ban on single-use plastic
bags coupled with an education campaign for the public about the advantages of
doing so.
- Culver City can do
more to support our schools—the Council can offer the use of its Chambers to the
School Board for regular meetings to accommodate the public and make it
possible for the proceedings be televised on the local government cable
channel. Meghan knows there are many other ways that the Council and
School Board can collaborate for the mutual benefit of students and the
community. She is ready to develop a
closer partnership.
- Crafting a budget
that reflects our priorities—Meghan’s commitment to a budget process that is open,
respectful and inclusive is based on valuing the input of all stakeholders
in our community. This is especially important during times of economic
stress and change.
Meghan was a
regular at City Council meetings during the four years before she was elected.
She knows how to do her homework! But
while Culver City can look to Meghan for leadership, she is also depending on us
to participate actively. We all need to get
involved in order to: strengthen our neighborhoods, build the local economy,
step up efforts to green Culver City, improve our transportation and affordable
housing options, demand transparency at City Hall, make sure new developments
are a good fit, celebrate our local art and music scene, value cultural
diversity, contribute our expertise as residents and City employees, support
our children, youth and elders, and assure that the most vulnerable members of
our community are respected and kept safe.
Meghan was
elected because of a tremendous grassroots effort; now ALL of us need to work
together for positive change and to assure that Culver City continues to
flourish.
Disa
Lindgren was the Co-Campaign Manager for Meghan Sahli-Wells for Council in 2010 and
2012.
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