ONE thing stood out in City Councilman Paul Krekorian's announcement last week of a batch of proposals to improve Los Angeles' valuable neighborhood-council system: the word choices.
According to the press release, the ideas were the result of "a year-and-a-half's worth" of research, survey-taking, and public and committee meetings. Further, the study was "unprecedented," which it no doubt is, since neighborhood councils have been around for only a decade.
Though the ideas may be beneficial for the city's young citizen empowerment movement, the presentation of these proposals was deliberately overblown - and curious. Did Krekorian really need 18 months to reach some of the study's ambiguous conclusions and formulate the arcane proposals that the east San Fernando Valley representative put forward in four council motions? If so, is that something to be proud of?
Krekorian's not the only politician guilty of this kind of self-congratulatory tone while reciting the accomplishments of just doing his job representing the public. Indeed, in a city full of career politicians, getting credit for things big and small is just part of building the brand. Every elected official employs at least one staff member to put out press releases and spin their image in the media.
This underscores a larger
problem with local politics: It's not enough simply to do the job of representing constituents; everyone has to know about it. Elected officials who choose not to play the game risk losing out to challengers who are better self-promoters.Still, this was a stretch. All Krekorian has accomplished so far is to get the official conversation started about how the 93 neighborhood councils can be more effective voices for their communities. Earlier this year, the Council District 2 staff conducted a survey titled "Perspectives on Neighborhood Empowerment." It drew 217 responses. Nearly half came from neighborhood council members. Among the findings: By a margin of 44 percent to 35 percent, people want a two-year delay in the next round of neighborhood-council elections while better voting systems are adopted.
So, a year-and-a-half study leads to a two-year delay in a crucial part of the process?
Another survey result highlighted on Krekorian's website is that 31 percent of respondents think the city clerk should administer neighborhood council elections, 30 percent the councils themselves should do so, 16 percent think the duty should go to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, and 15 percent would turn to an independent third party.
Now there's a call to action.
This is not to diminish the importance of trying to enhance the effectiveness of neighborhood councils, which grew out of the Valley secession movement of the early 2000s. Krekorian deserves credit for listening to community activists and seeking to make the system better. Elected officials should get attention for good work - but when only when credit is due.
A Los Angeles Daily News editorial. To read more editorials from the Daily News, go to www.dailynews.com/opinions.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18340295?source=rss
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