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ALPERN AT LARGE - The Downtown L.A. Elites can quibble all they want about whether a reality TV star should be our next Mayor, but after the sudden flight of Rick Caruso and Austin Beutner’s departure after a family tragedy, Angelenos are miserable at the thought of four more years of Mayor Bass (or even Councilmember Raman) being mayor.
Frankly, many Angelenos feel that our OWN houses have been burned down, our streets and wallets have been taken over, and no one Downtown gives a damn—so the sentiments towards Mayor Bass or Councilmember Raman (who too often seem to be the same person—an inept and uncaring Downtown politician) should be respected.
I will make a quick exception for CD11 Councilmember Traci Park, who has been courageous and representative of her constituents, was the symbol of reason and empathy to the Westside during the fires, wants better government as a true moderate in a Democratic city, and absolutely deserves another four years in office.
What might Park and Pratt have in common? On the surface, not much in that she’s a moderate Democratic attorney and he’s a reality TV star who identifies as more conservative than the rest of Hollywood would prefer (Heaven forbid, a Republican!).
Yet let’s not forget that the person who started Neighborhood Councils was a moderate Republican, Richard Riordan, who wanted citizen empowerment and unleashed a wave of grassroots energy that created almost 100 self-starting Neighborhood Councils overnight…
…only to see the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment with subsequent mayors punch down, defund, and emasculate that grassroots effort in the same way that the rest of City government unleash top-down government, taxation without representation, and safety/security chaos against the will of the citizenry…
…and who thereby have shredded any hopes of a true Democracy in a so-called “Democratic” City of the Angels.
So when I speak of Pratt and Park being authentic and caring about the people, there is no grand conspiracy between them—Park is Pratt’s Councilmember, and has endorsed her, but they’re of different political backgrounds and don’t seem to interact too much while they’re on their own campaign trails.
Yet they both seem to have endorsed authenticity and “listening to the citizenry” each on their own, and in their own races (and Park’s track records is just first-rate).
I’ve not forgotten how I spent 20 years as one of the few (if not perhaps only) Republican on the Mar Vista Community Council—but no one did or should have cared in a nonpartisan entity like a Neighborhood Council, and if D’s and R’s behave then they’ll just choose different paths to some common goals of a better quality of life, citizen empowerment, and a better future for all.
Similarly, no one should care too much about Republican/Trump this or Democrat/Newsom that—I also helped endorse, advise, and create a grassroots revolution that brought the late Bill Rosendahl (a Democrat) into a CD11 seat.
Rosendahl made it clear he “embraced all Democrats, Independents, and Republicans”, and most Democrats and Independents and Republicans alike do NOT care what a true local community leader’s political background is.
The Rosendahl era was a better time, because he represented the best qualifications for running for public office--whether or not one wants to represent and help lead one’s neighbors and constituents. Rosendahl entered public office at age 70, and just wanted to make the world a better place.
In contrast, no one wants clueless, detached, noncaring, and gaslighting grandstanders who are of no substance or credibility.
Karen Bass blaming the Palisades and Altadena fires on “climate change”?
Gimme a break--climate change is real, but government irresponsibility is just as real!
Why did Karen Bass and Nithya Raman suddenly withdraw from the May 13th mayoral debate?
Probably for the same reason why Bass is going up in the polls after an endorsement from former Vice President Harris, but Pratt is exploding MORE in the polls by his own statements, face-to-face interviews, and debates.
No one knows WHAT the heck Raman stands for, no matter what she says, Bass’ supporters have to hold their nose and offer tepid support, but Pratt says things that many, many ordinary Joe/Jane Angelenos hear and they think, “This guy hears me and gets me!”
Pratt comes across as an “anti-Bass”, if you will.
Spencer Pratt comes across as putting Angelenos first, and Karen Bass comes across as putting Karen Bass first (and ditto for Raman).
As for Pratt’s “lack of political experience”? Might that be a bad thing, or a GOOD thing?
Because the beloved late Bill Rosendahl had no political experience, but he was just so doggone authentic that folks of all political stripes voted him in with a grassroots tidal wave that was needed to restore to a cynical, backstabbed populous of used-and-abused Angelenos…only to see it fall apart in the last 10-15 years.
What’s missing for Pratt in this race, and by extension Bass and Raman?
Outreach to the Neighborhood Councils that Republican Mayor Riordan embraced, and Democratic Councilmember Rosendahl cherished, and which Democratic Mayor Garcetti subsequently has grievously disempowered.
In other words, WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS AND VOLUNTEER/GRASSROOTS ENTITIES UNDER A MAYOR PRATT, OR BASS, OR RAMAN?
We need a new leader who will restore grassroots excitement and optimism, and although Bass or Raman ideally should be the ones to do that, it’s obvious that they are incapable of doing that.
However, with the loss of Rick Caruso and Austin Beutner from the mayoral race, then it just might be—completely unlooked for—one reality TV star Spencer Pratt who could possibly dare to do just that.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
