What galls me most of all about the utter contempt with which L.A.’s political and civic elite treats the neighborhoods and the people of the city is that we miss the opportunity to mobilize our human resources for the greater good of everyone.
Sooner or later, they have to be made to understand that this is our L.A.; it belongs to the people and we can make it the kind of city that it ought to be — not the kind of city that tramples on the interests, values and needs of the people and slavishly serves the special interests without regard to the common good.
Here’s just one of th 1,000 proofs of what I say, today’s email from the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council which shows the kind of good works that communities are doing all over L.A.:
Having Trouble Dealing With Metrolink Trauma?
Chatsworth Support Group Can Help You Cope
Please share your thoughts with other first-responders, volunteers
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Neighborhood Councils, resident associations, service clubs, religious institions and community groups of every type, race and philosophical point of view contribute to the health and well-being of our L.A. every day.
What does it say about the City Hall’s political culture that not one single elected official will stand with the people and denounce a system sees the public as nothing but a cash cow to provide sweetheart contracts and handsome paydays to unions, contractors, developers, lobbyists and consultants?
Ron, I understand that you have a reason to be angry but the exact nature of what you say is not clear from the post. Chatsworth NC email was an announcement that was fairly straightforward in its purpose.
The failings of the elected officials are numerous elsewhere but I still don’t see the problem here that you say is not being done by elected officials.
Ron didn’t sound so angry. I thought he was just really pumping up the Chatsworth NC for being on the ball, helping out however they could and just doing the best they can to help people.
This former NC Chair is proud of her friends and neighboring NC in Chatsworth!
I didn’t think Ron’s rant was about the city not being there for the train wreck, but just about them in general.
Neighbors having a “voice” doesn’t mean that they have any chance of “getting something done”. These are two different things. Typically, Neighborhood Councils provide an arena to speak but YOU ARE NOT HEARD. It’s like talking to a wall.
Take the Sunland Tujunga Neighborhood Council. They routinely ignore the community, except regarding the Home Depot Opposition. See if any “neighbors” that take a problem to the STNC get any satisfactory results. You won’t find any. They are Wendy Greuel’s shills.
Most of these Neighborhood Councils are nothing more that propaganda fronts for their Councilpersons. Although there are some selfless Neighborhood Council Representatives, most are in it for personal gain and acquiring financial rewards through favoritism acts for their Councilperson. That’s why you need to require the disclosure forms.
Anonymous at 7:46 a.m. In your first paragraph you say “having a voice doesn’t mean . . . any chance of getting something done;” but yet you would put more restrictions on NC board members, then already exist, and you are apparently a proponent for financial disclosure forms. Why limit or restrict the only hope we have of a voice in city government? A simple sign off on a statement “I have no conflict with this vote” is enough. Requiring a financial disclosure form from Volunteers who serve in nothing more than advisory capacity puts the cart before the horse. If you think board members have a conflict, tell the board about it, or DONE. Why not support minimum or no restrictions and demand that your NC be allowed to open a council file? With that power your NC would not need a council member to open a file at City Council and you could try to get your NC to support the legislation you think is needed to cure the problems you are seeing. Go to http://www.citywatchla.com which has a few articles about this issue. I do agree with you on one point: The only entities that ask for money from our NC, possibly because of all the restrictions that City Council has in place, are city agencies already flush with cash. For example, LAPD training, LAUSD middle school for landscaping; Councilman Greig Smith’s office for coffee for his Cleanup and for banners for his citrus sunday.
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