Meet Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, Candidate For City Council Of Culver City
Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin told Patch why she should be elected to the City Council of Culver City. The election is on Nov. 5, 2024.
https://patch.com/california/culvercity/meet-jeannine-wisnosky-stehlin-culver-city-city-council-candidate
“CULVER CITY, CA — Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin is vying for one of three seats up for election on Culver City’s City Council.
Voters in the Nov. 5 election will decide between seven candidates running for the three seats.
Learn more about Stehlin’s goals for Culver City:
Education
I earned my M.B.A. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and my bachelors degree in communications and advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I also pursued my passion for the arts with a certificate in classical acting from The National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York and a certificate in comedy improv from The Players Workshop of the Second City in Chicago. After moving to California, I furthered my education with a Professional Designation in Arts Education from Los Angeles County Arts Education.
Occupation
My work background has given me an intimate understanding of the challenges that Culver City’s small businesses and workers in the creative economy face. I currently own a small business that provides consulting, communications and capacity building for other small businesses and nonprofits. I’m also the executive managing director for an award-winning professional theater company and actor training space. In this role, I’ve produced over 200 productions in both Los Angeles and New York and have had the privilege of hiring hundreds of professional artists, maintaining a strong 50-50 gender parity. In 2019, I was honored with a career achievement award for my contributions to Los Angeles Theatre. During the 2020 pandemic, when live performances came to a halt, I took on a role as operations VP for a global enterprise knowledge graph trade organization.
As a small business owner and consultant, I’ve worked with clients across a range of sectors, including social media, the arts, political campaigns, local businesses, nonprofits, foundations, home health care, special education, business re-engineering, factory automation, clean water, the environment, and the federal government.
Family
I’m married to actor and director Jack Stehlin, and together we’ve raised our three daughters here in Culver City. They attended Culver City Unified School District schools from kindergarten through high school graduation, and grew up making lifelong friends. As a family, we’re passionate about shelter-animal advocacy and we foster rescue kittens with local animal groups or whenever the “kitten distribution system” comes our way. We share our home with our two cats, who are our beloved “foster wins.”
Have you ever held public office, whether appointive or elective?
Yes, I’ve had treasured and valuable experience in public service. I served two terms, totaling eight years, as an appointed Cultural Affairs commissioner from 2016 to 2024, including two years as chair. In my role, I directed over $1 million to nonprofit performing arts organizations, co-authored the city’s Artist Laureate program, and advised on bringing back our Summer Sunset Concert series downtown at the Culver Steps. Before that, I was appointed to the Cultural Affairs Foundation. I was appointed to the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee for the Culver City Unified School District, where I helped oversee expenditures for a $106 million facilities bond.
I also served as an advisor on the Career Technical Education (CTE) program, which focuses on providing students with practical, career-oriented skills, and the District Arts Team, which advises on the district’s overarching arts plan from TK-12.
As the only union member running (4th generation!), I serve on two SAG-AFTRA committees: the Women’s Committee and the Government Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) Committee. On the Women’s Committee, we tackle issues affecting women and minorities in the entertainment industry, including lack of opportunities, and discrimination based on gender, sexuality, age, race, and physical abilities. With the GAPP Committee, we advocate for policies that improve the lives and working conditions of actors and performers and for keeping entertainment jobs in California.
In addition, I’m deeply committed to supporting our local businesses, which are a vital part of our community. I’ve prioritized creating opportunities for arts workers and those in the creative economy, a sector that makes up 14 percent of our industry in Culver City. My goal is to keep nurturing our vibrant community and ensuring it thrives.
What do you think are the top three issues for Culver City voters in this election, and how do you plan to address them?
I’m running to make Culver City government more responsive to residents, community members, and small businesses. Leadership means delivering solutions for residents’ most pressing concerns and not dividing our community with false choices that don’t address our needs. It’s difficult to just pick three top issues for Culver City, because many issues are interrelated. However, three issues resonate with voters when I meet with them. They include traffic and mobility, homelessness and affordable housing, and neighborhood and public safety. I’ll address these concerns in the same way I’ve worked within the Culver City community for the past 24 years, that is with collaboration, communication, and compassion.
Traffic and Mobility: I’ll tackle gridlock with street designs that reduce confusion and promote smooth traffic flow for those picking up their kids, heading to work, or visiting our local businesses. It’s important that we involve and listen to all stakeholders in our community when we think about making changes.
We can repair and improve our streets and sidewalks without harming our local businesses or creating confusion, or making it so inconvenient that people avoid certain areas altogether. And it’s critical that we prioritize ensuring that emergency vehicles are not hindered. I’m dedicated to improving pedestrian pathways and creating safe, well-marked crossings because I’m deeply concerned about ensuring that kids can walk safely to school.
At the same time, I’m committed to expanding access to safe public transit — particularly in often-overlooked neighborhoods where kids live farther from their schools. Ultimately, everyone in our city should have easy, pleasant, and safe access to where they need to go, no matter their chosen mode of travel or their physical or cognitive abilities.
Homelessness and Affordable Housing: We must confront the humanitarian crisis of homelessness by continuing to support wraparound services that address the diverse needs of those in our community. Culver City’s homelessness response is on the right path, and our mobile mental health crisis team has been a vital step forward in offering support where it’s needed most.
Simultaneously, I will advocate for the construction of affordable housing in ways that preserve the unique qualities of our neighborhoods and protect current residents from displacement. Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) is essential, as these older, privately owned buildings provide a crucial entry point for new renters and allow longtime residents the ability to age in place with stability and dignity. This is important because experience shows that when NOAHs are sold and torn down, they are often replaced with more expensive units, worsening the affordable housing crisis.
Neighborhood and Community Safety: In keeping our community safe, I will advocate that our first responders are provided with the necessary funding and resources they need to meet our growing expectations. This includes safeguarding our kids in schools and parks, protecting against and solving sexual assault, robberies, hate crimes, and violent crimes, preventing and handling fire and other emergencies, all while promoting transparency and accountability.
But true safety also involves investing in what helps our community prosper, including providing economic opportunities, supporting our local businesses, ensuring that our schools remain excellent, that our streets and sidewalks are in good repair, providing access to biodiverse parks and greenspaces in every neighborhood, protecting our environment, uplifting our creative economy, providing healthcare and mental health services, and supporting those who need it most.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you’d succeed on the council?
I’m incredibly grateful to be part of a community that has given my family so much. This is why I have spent my time here volunteering alongside other community members, and co-founding grassroots organizations on improving our parks, schools, and neighborhoods.
One specific accomplishment that I’m proud of is when I and other parents organized a large community safety meeting after the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary murders. City council members, our police chief, fire chief, school board, teachers, parents, and community members gathered to mourn and collectively discuss how we could make our schools and community safer.
In addition, I was fortunate to serve as a Culver City Cultural Affairs Commissioner for eight years — from 2016 to 2024. In my time on the commission, I collaborated and served with wonderful people on the commission and in the city. I am proud to say that we directed over $1 million for matching grants to nonprofit performing arts organizations, who then performed music, dance, and theatre all over our city for the enjoyment of our community. We helped build bridges through art.
As a co-founder of Great Parks Culver City, I worked with a dedicated group of parents and community members who collaborated on improving our city’s parks and playgrounds. After a series of community meetings with stakeholders that included families and kids, we were able to replace outdated, broken equipment with new equipment that served a variety of ages and physical abilities. I mention these programs because I believe that city council members should serve the community by doing the most good for the most people. I truly believe that together, we can do great things.
What’s the best advice anyone gave you?
The strongest influences have been the women in my life, especially my mom and grandmothers. They taught me the importance of taking time to truly pay attention to what’s happening around me — even the small things, like listening to a child’s laughter or noticing a dewdrop on a leaf. They also reminded me to breathe, as our breath connects us to our shared humanity. And finally, they instilled in me the value of always sending thank you cards. Whether navigating challenges or celebrating successes, I always return to these principles that keep me grounded, help me appreciate the moment, and remind me to acknowledge the people who make a difference in my life.
Who is someone that inspires you and why?
One person who really inspires me is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She’s shown incredible courage in leading her state while facing horrific life-and-death situations. She has done this while producing real progressive change and policy in a critical swing state.
Gov. Whitmer has created jobs, led the way for economic investments, and fixed infrastructure—what she calls ‘fixing the damn roads’ — and invested in education. Despite facing tough situations, she’s managed to drive real, progressive change in a crucial swing state. I admire leaders who are changemakers, and not just change-talkers.
Is there anything else you’d like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
Thank you for the question! I’d like voters to know that I would be honored to earn their vote in November. My deep roots in our community and my experience in delivering solutions for Culver City include a lot of listening and team building. And in that spirit of collaboration, I am supported by a broad spectrum of organizations, current and past elected and appointed leaders, and hundreds of community members and neighbors.
More endorsements are coming in, and my endorsements at this moment in time include Congressmember Ted Lieu who represents part of Culver City, Congressmember Judy Chu, Assemblymember Laura Friedman, LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, LA City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, 12 current and past Culver City council members and mayors including Dan O’Brien, Albert Vera, and Göran Eriksson, and countless commissioners, and other leaders.
Organizations include Culver City Democrats United, Heart of LA Democratic Club (the first feminist Democratic club in LA County), Democrats for the Protection of Animals, Everytown for Gun Safety, BizFedPac, Culver City Neighbors United, Theatre Producers League of Southern California, and IBEW Local 11, the electrical workers union in Los Angeles. I’m also a Moms Demand Gun Sense Candidate.
Readers can look on my website to read more about me, endorse me, and sign up to volunteer and get lawn signs. It’s Jeannine4CulverCity.com.“
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