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 [ ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=363)

#  Remembering Eric Preven: The Smart Speaker Who Refused to Be Silent

Written by Jim Hampton.

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December 15 2025

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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - It’s 12 noon on a Monday, and there is no email from Eric Preven.

There is *always* an email on publishing day. There has been for more than 15 years. An update, a question, a probe, a push, a link, a joke, a jab, a warning, a plea — something that said *Eric is watching City Hall, and City Hall better be ready.*

Today, the silence is deafening.

Los Angeles has lost one of its fiercest voices of vigilance. CityWatch has lost one of its most prolific, passionate writers. And countless Angelenos — many who never met him but relied on him to speak for them — have lost a voice that refused to be quiet on their behalf.

### A Presence in Every Room That Needed Accountability

Eric Preven was a fixture at City Council meetings long before most of us learned what a “Smart Speaker” was. He didn’t use that one minute of public comment to congratulate, to grandstand, or to pass along pleasantries. He used it to demand answers.

He pushed. He prodded. He irritated, needled, exposed, illuminated. He asked the questions elected officials didn’t want asked — and asked them publicly, repeatedly, relentlessly.

He was, in many ways, a one-man checks-and-balances system.

When a councilmember tried to dodge responsibility, Eric shoved the spotlight back on them. When corruption flourished under the cover of bureaucracy, Eric tore back the curtain. When a community was ignored, he made sure their issue was read into the record.

He wasn’t always gentle. He wasn’t supposed to be.

Eric fought for people who didn’t have time to watch every meeting, read every agenda, or decode every budget line. And he did it with ferocity, humor, and an unmatched willingness to endure the slings and arrows of the political class.

### A Celebration of Life, and a Life Full of Light

I had the privilege of attending his Celebration of Life — a gathering of about 100 family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and fellow fighters. What became immediately clear was this:

Eric Preven, the relentless government watchdog, was only one version of Eric.

The other was a man who loved deeply, laughed constantly, cooked joyfully, and made every person in the room feel like the most important one. Story after story painted the picture of a man who teased the people he loved, gave them ridiculous nicknames, and mocked their quirks with the affection of a brother.

If Eric offered you a joke at your expense, you knew you were in the inner circle.

He stuck up for friends with the same intensity he used to hold public officials accountable. He cared about people — truly cared — and seemed to collect lifelong relationships everywhere he went.

Father, mother, sibling, schoolmate, co-conspirator, fellow activist, neighbor, or just someone who bumped into him at a meeting — you mattered. He made sure you knew it.

### A Writer Like No Other

For more than 15 years, I worked with Eric from a distance as the Editor of CityWatch. Every week, I received articles that only Eric Preven could have written — dense, witty, chaotic, brilliant, detailed, layered, acrobatic in their references, and fearless in their targets. And many as long at a CVS receipt.

Sometimes I had to read them twice. Or three times. They were transcripts, puzzles, satires, indictments, and love letters to civic engagement, all at once. It was a stream, a play-by-play of City Council meetings that Eric attended.

But once published, readers responded.

Because Eric saw everything, heard everything. And he understood what it meant.

### A Superhero in a World That Needed One

To City Hall, he was a thorn. To reformers, he was fuel. To residents, he was a lifeline. To the political establishment, he was an uninvited truth serum.

If Los Angeles were Gotham, Eric Preven would be Batman — fighting the Jokers, the clowns, the corruption, the complacency, and the backroom dealings that threatened the city he called home.

Not because he enjoyed the fight (though sometimes he clearly did).
But because someone had to step into the arena, day after day, year after year.

And he did.

My biggest regret is that after working with Eric as editor of CityWatch for over 15 years, I only knew him thru emails and phone calls. I never spent time with him in person, as a friend.

He was the friend you wanted, he was the friend you needed.

### The Silence He Leaves Behind

Today, there is no email. No push. No prod. No jab. No warning. No one-minute commentary waiting to be delivered at the podium.

Los Angeles is quieter — and worse for it.

Eric Preven gave this city something rare and irreplaceable: unwavering, unfiltered civic courage. He held the powerful to account. He gave voice to those without one. And he did it with humor, heart, and an energy that now feels impossible to replace.

CityWatch — and Los Angeles — will not be the same without him.

Rest in power, Eric.

I’m still waiting for your email.

***(Jim Hampton** is the Publisher and Editor of CityWatchLA.com. With over 40 years of experience in radio broadcasting, marketing, and content creation, Jim helped launch CityWatch online with founding editor Ken Draper more than two decades ago. He continues to guide the platform’s mission to provide independent news and opinion on Los Angeles government, policy, and civic life.)*

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