Dear Editor:
Culver City Olympics 2028 committee — think about “the customer.” As we all know, Culver City will be located right in the middle of the different Olympic 2028 events, and it is a great opportunity to show the city to the world by having some countries putting on awesome events and country pavilions to highlight their own country. Therefore the city formed a special Olympics Committee a few years back, in order to reach out to the different countries and to support the local businesses in their efforts to offer great venues and other related business opportunities during this time. The two city council members elected to this committee were Dan O’Brien and Freddy Puza.
During the council meeting on February 9, the council discussed if former mayor and now council member O’Brien should remain on the Olympic Committee or not. The debate missed a very important point of view: what do “the customers” think? What do the countries think that now are in the final process of deciding where to put their events and country pavilions during the Olympics? Needless to say, if “the customers” loose the trust in the city, they will choose another city.
I have since many years a business in Culver City, Euro VAT Refund, Inc. www.eurovat.com I am the founder and owner together with my husband, the former mayor and city council member, Göran Eriksson. Our company works with international taxes, and as part of that, we often network with the different consulates in the LA area, the embassies in Washington DC, as well as the US Department of Commerce. We have for years, and we have well established personal relationships with many diplomats, their staff and other consulate key persons in the LA area and elsewhere. We visit them, and we participate in several of their network events during the year. As for any business, the personal relationships we establish is crucial for our success.
During the last 12 months, I have noticed how aware many of these diplomats in LA all of a sudden have become of Culver City. This did not use to be the case. When I now mention where I am from they often lit up and say “oh yes, Culver City. We just met with a very nice man from there who presented the city as a good alternative for placing an event during the Olympics 2028”. Turns out they met and very much liked Dan O’Brien. It is obvious that he has gained many of the diplomats’ interest and trust in Culver City.
It is amazing to me to see how actively and successfully Dan O’Brien has been promoting Culver City during this last year. I had no idea how much he has been around to meet the diplomats in LA in person, and how often he had gotten them to visit Culver City in order for them to understand what a great location this would be to put on some kind of venue during the Olympics. He has single handed put Culver City on the map for these diplomats, who did not really know this before.
To now take him off this committee would be detrimental, as several of these countries during the spring of 2026 are in the process of making the final decision for where in LA they want to put on an event or host a venue for their country. Note that they have several choices — Culver City is not the only city that want their very valuable business. I cannot see how anyone at this crucial point can go in and replace him. It is Dan O’Brien that they trust and know personally. It is him they want to be deal with, in addition to the staff. To have someone else step in and try to explain that due to a political fight, council member and former mayor Dan O’Brien is no longer allowed to represent the city is not going to go over well. From their point of view, this very likely will look like a city that does not have its act together, and that is not a city that they will choose for their event, when they have other choices.
For that reason, I am urging the city council to make the decision that will mean that Culver City still is the place that the different countries can relay and trust in for their important events during the Olympics 2028. Do not replace Dan O’Brien on this committee. The public perception among the diplomatic corps will be very bad as they want to deal with “the guy they know and like and trust”.
I urge the city council to keep this in mind when they continue their discussions.
Britta Eriksson
