Mayor makes major announcement during State of City address

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article used an incorrect name for Enrique Lozano. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Culver City Mayor Dan O'Brien presented the 2025 State of the City address at the Culver Theater Thursday night, and used the opportunity to make a significant announcement. During the address, he revealed that a proposal for a potential Hospitality House featuring Senegal and other interested African countries at Media Park will come before the Culver City City Council in January 2026.

While the night started with a reflection on the past year in Culver City, the second half of the event was reserved for a panel featuring several international figures on the impact of sports on a community. Answering questions on this panel — titled "Sports Diplomacy: From Compton to Culver City to the world were Jorrit De Vries and Rahsaan Bahati, the latter of whom O'Brien was connected to by the Consul General of Senegal in Los Angeles.

Before that panel, O'Brien reflected on the tumultuous year that began with the Pasadena fires, which the Culver City Fire Department helped tackle. The story of Enrique Lozano, the paletero (EN: Spanish for popsicle vendor), who caught the attention of the nation when he was taken by federal immigration officers in front of Resurrection Church at Center Boulevard and Culver Boulevard and detained for almost four months.

"He became a symbol of why what has been happening is so wrong," O'Brien said. "These are hardworking people, just striving for the American dream."

Lozano was in attendance Thursday night and received a warm reception and a round of applause from attendees. O'Brien also took time to recognize two of the city's highest-ranking staff members who are soon retiring: City Manager John Nachbar and Department of Housing and Human Services Director Tevis Barnes.

"You've not just been a great person to work with," O'Brien said of Barnes, "but a great person to know."

But the address focused more on the positives for the city rather than the obstacles it faced in 2025. Praise for the city's departments and their staff was plentiful in O'Brien's address as he recognized their work this year in making Culver City a better place to live.

He spoke fondly of highlights like the 19,000 square feet of sidewalks and 2.5 miles of city streets repaired by the city's Public Works Department, engagement with the community on the city's budget and Measure CL, and the return of Music in the Chambers after a 15-year hiatus in a video played on the large theater screen behind O'Brien.

"They probably receive much more criticism than a staff from 10 or 20 years ago does," O'Brien said of Culver City staff, "but I do know that every single one of them is working hard to make the city what it is today."

O'Brien then transitioned to a video shown to diplomats interested in bringing their Olympic activities to the city, highlighting Culver City's appeal as a venue. This led into the panel, featuring guests De Vries and Bahati answering questions asked by O'Brien.

De Vries is the Chief Representative for the Kingdom of the Netherlands' Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Bahati is the founder of the Bahati Foundation, which aims to engage youth through cycling and will partner with Senegal for their Hospitality House. While Senegal has already bought into the idea of calling Culver City their home for the 2028 Olympics, O'Brien hopes he can also continue appealing to the Netherlands through this panel.

"This is kind of a form of bribery here," he said jokingly.

In the Mayor's words, the panel was about "sport diplomacy as a bridge between people." He asked questions about the panelists' experiences with sports in other countries and how they can be used as more than an outlet for competition to improve the mental health and overall well-being of community members.

One of the additional benefits discussed was the financial aspect, and the Netherlands is not shy about embracing it, De Vries said. The country hopes to bring a semi-permanent or permanent business incubator to the Los Angeles Area next year to capitalize on the Olympics and help Dutch businesses expand into the L.A. or U.S. market. Culver City is one of the finalists under consideration to host the undertaking.

"There are already 90 companies that have put money into this," De Vries said. "That's a big dream, and a lot of people are working on it."

The State of the Union speech will be posted online by Culver City at a later date.