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Dan O'Brien Newsletter — April 5, 2026
📬 Councilmember Dan O'Brien | Culver City | April 6, 2026
Hello Culver City Neighbors,
There are weeks when the Council meets and you can see the decisions happening in real time. Then there are weeks like this one, when the visible work is quieter but the foundation is shifting underneath us. Four new executive appointments in five days. A brand-new budget process opening up to public dialogue starting tomorrow night. A panel in front of LA's diplomatic corps about how Culver City is preparing for the world to show up here in 2026 and 2028. And on Saturday, 14 miles on the Mount Wilson trail, which is the kind of reset that makes the rest of it possible. Here's what's shifting.
🏛️ City Hall: Four New Executive Leaders Joining Culver City
🔹 A major leadership build-out at City Hall: On March 30, the City announced four senior executive appointments, the most significant team expansion under City Manager Odis Jones to date. Each role lines up directly with a Council strategic priority: economic vitality, transportation, housing, and the budget.
→ 📊 Who's joining:
- Adam K. Troy, Assistant City Manager for Economic Development, Vitality, and Equity. Most recently CEO of the Community of Caring Development Foundation, with prior leadership at the Public Lighting Authority of Detroit, where he brought in over $250 million in funding.
- Nick Zornes, Chief Transportation Officer. Background in urban planning and infrastructure delivery, with experience integrating transportation systems with land use and economic development. He'll report to Senior Assistant City Manager Lea Eriksen.
- Diane Glauber, Housing & Human Services Director. Currently Acting Director of Housing and Community Development for King County, Washington, where she manages a $500 million budget and an 80-person team. Prior roles at HUD and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.
- Stephen J. Agostini, Chief Financial Officer. Three decades in public finance, most recently Vice Chancellor and CFO at UCLA, where he closed a $300 million budget gap and delivered a balanced budget with a surplus.
→ 🎯 My take: Picture our org chart a few months ago and picture it now. With Lea Eriksen already on board as Senior Assistant City Manager, this round adds the people who will actually execute on the things this Council has been authorizing: the JPA financing tool, the Sepulveda corridor work, Jubilo Village and the next round of housing, and the structural budget fix that has to happen this year. Stephen Agostini in particular is the kind of CFO hire you make when you are serious about closing a structural deficit. Closing a $300 million gap at UCLA is a real-world resume for the moment we are in.
→ ⚡ Why it matters for businesses: Adam Troy's portfolio is economic development, vitality, and equity. As someone who also leads the Chamber, that title matters to me. It says the City is investing dedicated executive bandwidth in our small businesses, our corridors, and the independent operators who built this city's character. I'm looking forward to working closely with him.
💰 Budget: Two Public Conversations This Week
🔹 "Let's Talk Budget, Culver City" kicks off tomorrow. City Manager Odis Jones is hosting a new community series focused on the FY 2026-27 budget. Two sessions are on the calendar this week, and they are designed as small-group, table-format conversations rather than formal hearings. Bring your questions about spending, services, and tradeoffs. Bring your priorities. This is the easiest direct line you'll have to the people building the budget.
→ 📅 The two meetings:
- Tuesday, April 7, 6:30 PM: Veterans Memorial Building, Rotunda Room, 4117 Overland Ave.
- Friday, April 10, 1:30 PM: Culver City Senior Center, 4095 Overland Ave.
→ 🎯 My take: A priority-driven budget is only as good as the priorities residents bring to it. Last summer voters passed Measure CL, which is projected to bring in roughly $5.6 million annually, and the JPA we authorized in March opens up new financing tools. Those are levers, not solutions. The decisions about where the money actually goes start in rooms like the ones happening this week. If you can make either session, please do.
👉 Submit feedback to the Budget Input Box anytime
🌍 Economic Development: Sports Diplomacy and the Global Stage
🔹 LA Consular Corps panel on the World Cup and LA28: Last week I had the privilege of joining a panel before the Los Angeles Consular Corps and city leaders from across LA County to talk about how Culver City is preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our city is increasingly known across the region as a leader in sports diplomacy, and I was honored to share our approach and offer help to any nation or city that wants to plug in. Thank you to Supervisor Holly Mitchell's office for the invitation.
→ 💡 Why it matters: Two Council meetings ago, we approved community watch parties for the World Cup. Conversations like this one are the second half of that decision. Sports diplomacy is not a buzzword for Culver City. It is a practical way a small city uses a global moment to lift up local businesses, build international relationships, and put our name on stages we wouldn't otherwise reach.
🤝 Community: A Good Friday Worth Showing Up For
🔹 YMCA of Metropolitan LA Good Friday Breakfast, April 3: I was invited by the Culver-Palms YMCA to attend the YMCA of Metropolitan LA's Good Friday Breakfast, and it turned out to be one of the most inspiring rooms I've been in this year. Every speaker brought something real, but fellow Trojan Rodney Peete spoke about gratitude in all things, the good and the hard, in a way that genuinely moved me. Our local Y has been a backbone of family life in Culver City for generations, and showing up for one another across faiths and neighborhoods is what holds a community together when everything else feels noisy.
🔹 Cesar Chavez Day, March 31, and Easter Sunday, April 5: Two civic and cultural moments inside this coverage window. Cesar Chavez Day honored the legacy of the farmworkers' movement that reshaped labor rights in California and across the country. Easter weekend filled our parks and gathering spots with families. Both are reminders of how much our public spaces and our shared traditions carry in this town.
🌲 Parks & Environment: Trail Day at Baldwin Hills, April 11
🔹 Volunteer Trail Day at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, Saturday, April 11, 9 AM to noon. Meet at the upper lot, 6300 Hetzler Road. Hosted by the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in partnership with California State Parks, Stoneview Nature Center, Parks Project, and the City of Culver City. Bring water, gloves if you have them, and shoes you don't mind getting dusty.
→ 🎯 My take: This one is personal for me. I've worked with Parks Project and the team at Baldwin Hills before, including past trail repair days and a fundraiser for Nature Nexus to support invasive plant removal. I've been a Boy Scout leader long enough to know there is no faster way to feel ownership of a place than spending a Saturday morning taking care of it. The Overlook is one of the best views in the county, and it stays beautiful because volunteers keep showing up. Bring a friend.
👉 Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
🔹 Compost Hub at Syd Kronenthal Park, Wednesday, April 8, 10 AM to noon. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday, in partnership with LA Compost. Bring your food scraps. Ten minutes, real impact.
📅 Dates and What's Ahead
🔹 Next City Council Meeting: Monday, April 13 at 7 PM. Agendas post the Wednesday or Thursday before. If something has been on your mind, this is the place to bring it.
🔹 CCFD Girls Camp, April 18 to 19. Registration is open. A weekend with our fire department for young women interested in seeing firsthand what our firefighters do.
🔹 Earth Day Elenda Street Activation, Wednesday, April 22. The second annual open-streets event along Elenda between Culver Boulevard and Farragut Drive. Students biking and rolling to school on a car-free street, with community groups and Earth Day education activities.
🔹 Fire Service Day & Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, May 9. Save the date. A Culver City tradition worth getting on the calendar early.
🔹 Every Tuesday, 2-7 PM. Downtown Farmers Market. Main Street. Grab produce, support local growers, and say hello to neighbors.
👉 Visit the Farmers Market page
🔹 How to watch and participate in meetings. Agendas post Wednesdays before Monday meetings. You can attend in person or virtually.
🙏 Closing Thought
Saturday on Mount Wilson, I spent 14 miles under a canopy of trees, past waterfalls and a 123-year-old camp tucked four miles into the wilderness, ending at the observatory with a cold drink at the Adams Pack Station. It sits right at the edge of LA County. That hike is a reminder that some of the best things about living here are also the easiest to take for granted, which is true of public spaces, and which is true of the people who run them.
The week ahead has two budget meetings, a trail day, a compost session, a Farmers Market, and a Council meeting on the back end. None of it requires a press release. All of it is how a city actually works. There is no shortage of ways to show up. I'll see you out there.
