Fixing L.A.:

We like Bill Rosendahl. And one of the things we like about him is that he’s crazy about L.A. After a long run as host and producer of the best public affairs shows on L.A. television, he’s now teaching  at Cal State Dominquez Hills, and he’s running for the Los Angeles City Council District #11 seat being vacated by Cindy Miscikowski. Since we live in Santa Monica, we can’t vote in Los Angeles, but since Santa Monica is literally surrounded by L.A. Council District 11, we care very much who represents it downtown and who looks after it out here. Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Venice, Mar Vista and Santa Monica have much more in common than borders – ranging from traffic congestion and over-development to pollution of the bay. Angelenos love this legendary coast we inhabit, as demonstrated by the throngs who come to the beaches in all seasons, but L.A. City Hall has never given it its due, and when residents from this area petition the L.A. Council, they are almost always rebuffed. Rudely. Since he began his run, Rosendahl has issued a blizzard of position papers. Clearly, he knows what the problems are – not simply here, but in Los Angeles as a whole, and he has offered some creative, even innovative solutions. That, combined with his love for L.A., and seemingly boundless  energy and enthusiasm will make him a formidable advocate for the far Westside in City Hall. It’s been a while since Los Angeles has had a mayor who was worthy of the city. While we often didn’t  agree with Dick Riordan’s policies, we liked his boundless affection for L.A. His belief and pride in it were almost palpable. The best thing about the incumbent mayor, Jim Hahn, is his name, but he seems to have none of the gifts of his father, and has done nothing to earn a second term. We wish there were a mayoral candidate we could endorse as wholeheartedly as we have endorsed Rosendahl, but there isn’t. The most we can say is that if we were voting, we’d vote for either Bob Hertzberg or Antonio Villaraigosa. They both know the city and the issues and, as they are both former speakers of the State Assembly, presumably they can work, to good effect, with the legislature on behalf of L.A. Still, we long for a mayor to match this extraordinary city. Maybe next time.