EDITORIAL : GETTING NO RESPECT; L.A. COUNCIL SNUBS MAYOR AND THE PUBLIC.BY giving his State of the City address in Woodland Hills, Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. pointedly went out of his way to show recognition and respect to the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Where were the members of the City Council? Twelve of the 15 were absent. Even most of the council members who represent parts of the Valley were among the missing. The disappearing dozen sent a loud, clear message. They were saying, in effect, that Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is too big and their obsession with downtown power is too strong for them to attend even an important event such as this one. The disappearing dozen just couldn't make it, not even with their taxpayer-provided cars and their taxpayer-paid gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by , not even with their taxpayer-provided staff of assistants and not even with their soon-to-be $100,000 salaries. No, no, no, they just couldn't travel all the way out to where the highest-ranking citywide official was giving a speech outlining ways to hold the city together and make it work better so it doesn't tear apart. Has the council already forgotten, or does it simply not care, that a poll found Valley voters supporting Valley cityhood by a 2-to-1 margin? Has the council already forgotten, or does it simply not care, that the same poll found public opinion running 7-to-1 in support of putting Valley secession secession, in art secession, in art, any of several associations of progressive artists, especially those in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna, who withdrew from the established academic societies or exhibitions. on the ballot? Has the council already forgotten, or does it simply not care, that when the council held a rare Encino meeting recently it kept the public waiting 90 minutes until a quorum A majority of an entire body; e.g., a quorum of a legislative assembly. A quorum is the minimum number of people who must be present to pass a law, make a judgment, or conduct business. of council members finally showed up and the meeting could begin? Has the council forgotten, or does it simply not care, that it treats the public with disrespect? Most of the reported comments of council members, trying to explain their absence from the State of the City address, focused on themselves and their preoccupations. They think everything revolves around them and revolves around downtown, where they hibernate See hibernation mode. . The council's absence tells a lot about its lack of respect for the Valley, the Office of the Mayor and the man who holds the office. The public should observe how this fits into a pattern of not looking after the interests of the public. This isn't a unique example. Consider this: On the same day as the council was boycotting the mayor's address, a City Council committee finally came up with a proposal for neighborhood councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. . After all the years that the council could have dealt with complaints about the city's failure to serve the priorities and values of L.A.'s diverse communities and neighborhoods, the council panel finally came up with a proposal - an awful one. It's a wisp (1) (Wireless ISP) An ISP that provides fixed or mobile wireless services to its customers. WISPs provide last mile access to rural areas and small villages as well as industrial parks at the edge of town. See ISP, fixed wireless and 802.11. See also WISPr. of an idea, with an incredible 150 or 200 neighborhood councils, all of them lacking any real authority. That isn't even a real plan. It's merely a way to muddy the process by which the council's and the public's charter reform commissions are seriously looking at how to empower the neighborhoods of this city. Is this non-plan the best that L.A.'s overpaid o·ver·pay v. o·ver·paid , o·ver·pay·ing, o·ver·pays v.tr. 1. To pay (a party) too much. 2. To pay an amount in excess of (a sum due). v.intr. To pay too much. council members can come up with? The central problem here is the failure of elected officials to respect the people they supposedly work for. The people of L.A. don't need a downtown-focused City Council that's incapable of treating the public with respect or responding effectively to public concerns. With a track record like that, L.A. might decide it doesn't need a downtown council at all - just neighborhood councils. |
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