A RUDE AWAKENING IN CITY HALL.

Byline: MARIEL GARZA

A lot of people don't like Roger Diamond's clients. The Los Angeles attorney represents a cross section of businesses and people generally viewed as sleazy - nudie bars, strippers and a convicted rapist, Max Factor heir Andrew Luster.

That doesn't really bother him, so long as his clients get the same consideration, the same respect as other tax-paying, voting constituents would expect to receive from their elected officials.

The problem is, they do get the same consideration, at least from the Los Angeles City Council.

During a June hearing before the council about an Eastside strip club that wanted to extend business hours, the council was distracted, inattentive and downright rude during the testimony, he says. One member talked on his cell phone throughout.

It seemed, Diamond said, that the council members had already made up their minds about the issue before the meeting.

As a City Hall reporter until just a few weeks ago, I can attest that this is not an unusual occurrence during the three weekly council meetings, regardless of the issue or whether strippers are involved.

While the formal business is conducted in front of the horseshoe-shape dias, the real business happens on the sidelines, where aides, city officials, reporters and council members mill about talking with one another. Council members read e-mail. Information is passed around, deals are made. Sometimes people even leave to conference with one another in the back room.

(By way of disclosure, I must admit I have been personally responsible for pulling council members' attention away from meeting business at times so that I could gather a comment for a story. Sorry.)

All of this makes for a pretty hostile environment for the regular Janes, Joses and Jiangs who find the need to traipse down to City Hall, park in one of those overpriced lots and stand in line to get security clearance just to log their opposition/support/complaint/suggestion.

If it seems the trip was in vain, that no one listened, it's enough to make someone choose to stay home.

Jerry England, one of Chatsworth's vocal equestrian-rights activists, has come to several council meetings to protest proposed developments and changes in the community. He, too, thinks council members don't pay enough attention to constituents and that it comes from a basic arrogance on the part of city officials who have already made up their minds beforehand.

Part of the problem is that when it comes to district-specific issues, the unspoken rule is to defer to the council member representing that district. As a result, council members often don't address those topics or appear to be that involved.

``It's pretty frustrating when it's your last desperate effort to get not only your council person but all the council to listen to you,'' England said.

Neither England nor Diamond is a shrinking violet, so the perceived disrespect rolls over them. But those with more sensitive natures are intimidated by the process. ``I've seen people so nervous they almost cried,'' England said.

Nor is this behavior specific to the Los Angeles City Council. I have heard similar stories about the Los Angeles County supervisors and the Los Angeles school board, though Diamond said he hasn't dealt with such a rude bunch of elected officials in more than 20 years.

In their defense, council members are bombarded with business during their meetings, as well as the aforementioned pesky reporters. They generally have reviewed information on the issues before it comes up, in reports and committee hearings. And with all the proclamations and presentations at each meeting, it's sometimes a wonder they get much done at all.

Plus, while it may look like they are not paying attention to the earnest testifiers, council members are actually ``multi-tasking,'' says David Gershwin, spokesman for Council President Alex Padilla, who is responsible for maintaining the order of the meetings.

But the bottom line is there are no specific rules for council conduct when it comes to being nice or paying attention to constituents. ``You can't legislate politeness,'' says Gershwin.

True, you can't make people be courteous, but you can punish them if they aren't. Diamond, never shy about suing public officials, is using a tape of the meeting in question to get a court to overturn the ruling the council made against the strip club. So far, a Superior Court judge chose not to overturn the ruling, but Diamond says he will appeal as far as he can.

Maybe it will affect the attention span at City Hall, or maybe the reality of term limits will do it first. But, you have to worry if you can't get people to listen to you even when you've got strippers on your side.