Bob Hertzberg for a Great LA

The One Constant: Change

During the past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time listening. I have been particularly interested in the discussions I have had with neighborhood council leaders. I’ve learned that opinions about City Hall are as diverse as our many great neighborhoods. Some want decentralization; others aren’t so sure. Some think neighborhood councils have little power to make real change; others believe the responsibility is sufficient.

The one consistent theme I hear, however, is that no one is satisfied that City Hall is doing everything it could to make LA the great world city it has the potential of being. I hear from neighborhood councils from every part of the city a real desire for action and change. No one is satisfied with mediocre leadership.

I know where I want to lead this city, but I’ve learned something important since I started campaigning: I can’t change LA by myself. The power to change LA rests with YOU. If you truly want change in City Hall, bring real power back to our neighborhoods and transform Los Angeles, you’ll have to take responsibility and action – on election day and beyond.

I’ll keep talking with a lot of you in our great neighborhoods. Please keep sharing with me your great ideas.

As-You-Go Accounting Isn’t Cool

Two big stories in the news this past week were the vote on the DWP rate increase and the record-breaking heat across Los Angeles. It may not be obvious what a hundred degree temperatures have to do with a candidate for mayor, but both of these issues highlight problems that need to be solved.

One of the problems highlighted by the DWP story is that you can’t develop a budget if you don’t know where the money is going and why. The City Council delayed a vote on the DWP budget and called for an outside auditor to pull together the full picture of the agency’s finances. It’s a fine idea, but if it’s good enough for DWP, why not examine every city agency? In a Hertzberg administration, the performance reviews will happen before the City Council votes, not after. It's been reported that Mayor Hahn knew that the DWP needed a rate hike when he first got to office. Three years later, we still don’t know how much of a hike is necessary because we still haven’t seen DWP’s books. Los Angeles deserves more transparency.

One of the downsides of as-you-go accounting is that neighborhoods aren’t given the time nor the information they need to weigh in on the services that impact not only their residents’ tax bills, but their quality of life. For example, both City Hall and the DWP have known about the need for rate hikes for years. Yet Councilwoman Janice Hahn has said that by the time many neighborhood councils heard about the DWP’s rate hike proposal, the DWP board had already approved an 18 percent increase (LA Times, 3/31/04). Telling neighborhood councils and the residents they represent that a rate hike is good medicine without telling them why is not the way to make neighborhoods feel empowered.

The recent heat wave underscored how little power neighborhoods actually have. As temperatures climbed into the hundreds, were kids able to cool off in their neighborhood public pools? Not if they lived in Northridge and Canoga Park. City Hall has said that there’s not enough money to keep the pools open (LA Daily News, 4/18/04). But as the DWP example shows, we really don’t know why we’re spending the money we have. Information is power, and the first step to neighborhood empowerment is giving neighborhoods the information they need to make priorities. That’s why one of the first things I will do is conduct a performance review of every city agency – including City Hall.

Bob “Hugsberg”

Visiting different parts of the city in the past week, I have been awed and humbled by the questions, comments and even criticisms I have received on my candidacy. Today, I would like to write about two things in particular that have struck me. First, the response of the people I have met has driven home that the people of LA are not just ready for this city to be transformed, they are hungry for it. The second thing is that lots of people want to know more about me. I don’t just get asked about the issues, I get asked how I became Bob Hugsberg. The funny thing to me is that transforming LA and embracing LA are related. Let me explain.

Shaking hands has never cut it for me. You’re standing your ground, I’m standing mine, and all we’re doing by shaking hands is acknowledging each other’s existence. When I interact with somebody else, whether it’s business or politics or anything, I want us to form a partnership. I want to overcome the usual obstacles to trust and communication so that we can get down to the business of solving the problem at hand. No guarded handshakes for me, I want a bear hug. Skip the formalities, let’s get to work.

Transforming LA is going to require the same kind of ethic. We won’t be able to stand on convention to make our city great. We can’t stand 10 feet or 10 miles from each other, acknowledge each other’s existence, and think we’re separately going to solve the problems that all of us face. We all have to embrace LA together. That’s the only way we are going to be able to create the vision and generate the energy that will solve our collective problems of too many violent crimes, too few good schools and too much traffic.

Whether you’re an old friend or a one I’ve yet to make, I hope to see you soon on the campaign trail. And when I do, I’m going to give you a hug. I’m not just saying nice to meet you. I’m saying let’s embrace LA. Tell me your ideas on how to transform this city and I’ll tell you mine. With my leadership and your support, we won’t just make this city work again, we’ll make Los Angeles dazzle the world.

Taking Stock of Neighborhoods

Please note: This blog is intended to be a discussion of issues facing Los Angeles. Personal attacks on ANY person are subject to removal.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to click on the blog -- 787 visitors as of 5:30 today -- and a special thanks to those of you who took the time to post a comment! I have been thinking for a long time about how to make our city a better place, but I know I'm not the only one. I want to combine your energy and your ideas with mine in order to come up with a plan of action that we can implement if I'm elected. Your comments so far have encouraged me that this blog will be the vehicle that brings about the meeting of our minds.

Many of the people who wrote in response to my last post were talking about neighborhoods. For example, Jerry England is very protective of his Chatsworth neighborhood and the council entrusted with defending its rural charm. Meanwhile, my old friend William Schlitz is concerned about the impact of LAX on Westchester. Yet another correspondent is emphatic that individual neighborhoods recognize that their interests may occasionally need to be compromised for the greater good of the City. Before I discuss my own ideas on how to make government work at both the neighborhood and citywide level, I would like to get a better sense of your impressions. How do you feel city government is doing? How effective have your neighborhood councils been? What things has city government been getting right? What needs to be improved?

Opening Statement

I’m incredibly excited about the chance to have a running dialogue about what we can do to get LA moving again and hear your thoughts and concerns. I hope this site will become a “must-read” forum for new ideas about what we can do to make LA a truly great city.

The men and women inspired by the Progressive movement who wrote our city’s first home rule Charter in 1925 chose to vest substantial power in commissions as a way to keep control of government in the hands of the people. We’ve strayed from that fundamental principle, and we’re paying the price today.

I hope that this blog will help start a trend towards involving more people in government and making government more responsive to people. I hope that we can use this new connection to bridge the gap between the people and their servants, and help make our city a better place.

I’ll be posting here regularly, and I hope you'll join me. I’m looking forward to our conversation.