Letters to the Editor: A new L.A. council district map that makes sense? Yes please.
Let’s do a little bit of history here, before we get started.
The current city council has just had a full meeting. You, I, and everyone who lives in the city of Los Angeles (or even near the city of Los Angeles) should know what that council looks like.
In case you don’t … you should know how it has looked since I was a young man a few years ago.
What has changed? The most important thing I can tell you is that the number of seats on the council has decreased from three to two.
The number of council staffers has increased. The number of people who serve on the board of supervisors has increased. The number of people who serve on the planning commission has decreased. The number of people who serve on the sanitation and parking commission has increased.
The number of people who serve on the health services board has increased. The number of people who serve on the water board has decreased.
The number of people who serve on public safety has decreased. The number of people who serve on the library board has decreased.
The number of new council members has increased. The number of new council staffers has increased.
So, how has the city council’s makeup changed? If I were living in the city of Los Angeles today, I would be very happy to hear that the council was still a five-member council, with all five of us having a combined vote of 30 percent.
Unfortunately, our city government has become more like a three-member council.
Our mayor doesn’t belong in that position. Even though he serves on three committees — the library board, the public safety committee, and the planning commission — we have not had in our city government a permanent member of the city council — the mayor — who really brings the experience, knowledge, and wisdom of the council.
As for the council president, the mayor has to do that. Even he is a committee member.
Our city manager, however, seems to be an entirely different person. He’s not a council member-in-residence, like Mayor Garcetti. He has not had the experience of having lived in the city.
He has not had the experience of working in the city, either.
It is true that the city manager will be