“The village well used to be a place where people came to meet and share news and get what they needed, which was water…now, our own Village Well is an intellectual and creative hub. People come here to share ideas and build relationships. When I thought about launching my re-election campaign, I thought what better place than the Village Well?”
Mayor Freddy Puza gathered a capacity crowd at the Village Well Books and Coffee on June 28, 2026 at 2 pm to kick-off his re-election campaign, strategizing for the November election.
Supporters of all kinds were in evidence, from elected officials like California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and West Hollywood city council member Chelsea Byers, to Culver City residents Enrique Lozano and Kimberly Noriega. Noriega spoke with affection and gratitude how Puza had been among the first to offer help when her uncle, Lozano, had been kidnapped by ICE last June. “We will never forget your support, and we want you to know that you have ours.”
Discussing his “back to basics” approach to city government and touting the newly-balanced budget, Puza noted much of the progress that had been made during his first term of office. “The Los Angeles Times recently called Culver City the hot spot for businesses… We have more people in [interim and supported] housing than we have on the street, and crime is significantly down, year after year.”
The format for launching a campaign is the same for incumbents as for candidates, and even the mayor does the fundraising and the photos that are required.
Puza thanked his supporters, saying “This is the community that built the Culver City of today, and this is the community that’s going to build the Culver City of tomorrow.”
Judith Martin-Straw
