Albert Vera has announced his plans to run for a seat on the Culver City City Council in 2018. Vera’s father, also named Albert, served on the council for a total of 12 years and was supported by the community through good times and bad. Vera hopes to be able to return the favor.

Vera was born and raised in Culver City and grew up helping out at his parents grocery store—Sorrento Italian Market—as well as helping with his family’s many ranches in Southern California. As an adult he served as a Culver City Police Department reserve office for 15 years, got married, and had a daughter.

In 2001 things took a dark turn for the Vera family when his brother died unexpectedly and his mother began battling a terminal illness. Vera turned to drugs during this trying time, and after a run-in with the law and jail time, checked himself into a rehabilitation center. Ultimately, he was able to emerge from that period clean and sober and strengthened.

Vera stated, “that was a dark time, but I learned a great deal about both myself and my community. Everyone in Culver City was so supportive of me and my family that I knew, even then, that I wanted to give back to this city.”

Vera returned to work at Sorrento, caring for his dying mother while also running the family businesses after his father’s death in 2010. “I am anxious to bring my business experiences to City Hall,” Vera said. “We need to be smart about our city’s finances, but we also have to focus on important issues like attainable housing for working professionals, public safety for all of our residents and intelligent ways of dealing with traffic, transportation and mobility.”

“We need to move our city forward by working together to address our challenges and take advantage of the opportunities we have before us. We need to balance economic development with the special qualities that make Culver City unique. I know that I can do that.”

Besides his background and love of business, Vera also believes in the importance of charity and altruism. Having grown up in the Culver City Real Estate area, Vera feels a great deal of love for the residents of the community.

Vera said, “We need to look out for everyone who calls this city ‘home’. Culver City should be a safe and welcoming environment for families at all levels of the economic spectrum, and I am committed to making sure our schools, our police department, our fire department and our parks system have the tools and resources they need to create that environment.”

Martin Feinberg, Culver City Realtor, was interested to learn that Vera has an extensive background working with many different Culver City organizations.   He is a member of the Culver City Exchange Club, has served on both the Culver City Landlord/Tenant Board and the Culver City Civil Service Commission, and currently serves on the Culver City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as the Culver City Palms YMCA Board of Managers.

Martin Feinberg, Realtor, encourages any who are interested in learning more about Albert Vera and his campaign to visit www.veraforcouncil.com.