Dear Culver City: Olympics Committee Decision should be about the "customer"

EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece and others in the "Dear Culver City" series are editorial pieces submitted by sources unaffiliated with Culver Crescent. The sentiments expressed in these articles do not represent or confirm the stance or opinions of Culver Crescent or any of its writers. Culver Crescent has not verified statements of fact made in these pieces. Any claims made in Dear Culver City pieces should not be taken as fact unless corroborated by independent research or data.

By Britta Eriksson

As we all know, Culver City will be right in the middle of the Olympic 2028 events, and it is a great opportunity to showcase the city to the world by hosting countries that put on awesome events and country pavilions to highlight their own countries.

Therefore, the city formed a Special Olympics Subcommittee 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 whether former mayor and now council member O'Brien should remain on the Olympic Subcommittee or not. The debate missed a very important point of view: what do "the customers" think? What do the countries think now that they are in the final stages of deciding where to place their events and country pavilions during the Olympics?

Needless to say, if "the customers" lose trust in the city, they will choose another city.

I have owned a business in Culver City, Euro VAT Refund, Inc. (www.eurovat.com) for many years. I am the founder and owner, together with your former colleague on the council, Göran Eriksson. Our company has worked on international taxes for years, and as part of that, we often network with the various consulates in the LA area, the embassies in Washington, DC, and the US Department of Commerce.

We have well-established personal relationships with many diplomats, their staff, and other key personnel at consulates in the L.A. area and elsewhere. We visit them, and we participate in several of their network events throughout the year. As for any business, the personal relationships we establish are crucial for our success.

During the last 12 months, I have noticed how aware many of these diplomats in L.A. have all of a sudden become diplomats of Culver City. When I now mention where I am from, they often light 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." It turns out they met and very much liked Dan O'Brien, and 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 had been around, meeting the diplomats in L.A. in person, and how often he had gotten them to visit Culver City so they could understand what a great location this would be for a venue during the Olympics. He has single-handedly put Culver City on the map for these diplomats, who did not really know this before.

To now take him off this subcommittee 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 L.A. 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 wants 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 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 will very likely look like a city that does not have its act together, and that is not a city 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 rely on 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 is a Culver City resident and business owner and the wife of former Culver City Mayor Göran Eriksson