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URBAN CRISIS - Why Democrats Must Fix Our Cities Before We Lose the Country
My wife and I bought a little house in a small town in Vermont—ostensibly as a vacation spot, but also as an escape hatch from the growing dysfunction we face in Los Angeles.
I grew up in the small Midwestern town of Rock Island, Illinois, where everyone knew your name and you couldn’t keep a secret. The people were as kind and decent as you’d ever hope to meet. I love that about Vermont—it has the same feel. Quiet. Beautiful. A place where I can walk, hike, think, and write without sirens in the background. It makes me wonder—why did I ever leave that kind of life for Los Angeles?
The answer goes back to the 22-year-old version of me, fresh from studying in London and vowing never to live in a small city again. Los Angeles in the afterglow of the 1984 Olympics was irresistible—mountains, beaches, perfect weather, booming industries, and the world’s creative capital. It was progressive, diverse, and brimming with promise.
Los Angeles, 1984
As a young campaign consultant, I helped run Dick Riordan’s first campaign for mayor and served as President of the L.A. Transportation Commission. At 28, I had a front-row seat to governing one of the greatest cities in the world.
Riordan’s agenda was simple: fulfill his pledge to add 3,000 police officers to fight crime and gang violence, bring businesses back, make schools safe, and improve basic neighborhood services. I’m a Democratic consultant now, and Riordan was a Republican—but no one cared, because local government in California is nonpartisan. That’s an important point. Local issues matter: the quality of the air we breathe, the safety of our streets, the excellence of our schools. Those aren’t red or blue—they’re just the essentials of a decent life.
Much has changed. And not for the better.
Major cities like Los Angeles are decaying. We worry about our safety. Homelessness is out of control. Housing prices are out of reach. Taxes are too high. Businesses and families are leaving in droves—taking jobs, tax revenue, and community stability with them.
Los Angeles, 2020
Into this vacuum steps Donald Trump, promising to deploy the National Guard to “clean up” big cities, citing crime and homelessness as proof that Democrats can’t govern. Poll after poll shows urban crime and homelessness near the top of voters’ concerns—even outranking inflation in some swing states.
Across the country, many of America’s largest cities—most of them run by Democrats—are losing residents, economic vitality, and trust. Large urban counties lost nearly a million residents last year, double the pre-pandemic rate. This isn’t just a quality-of-life crisis; it’s a political one. Why should voters promote Democrats to governor or the presidency if we can’t run the cities that most directly shape people’s daily lives?
If we want to fix it, we must start with a few basic truths:
1. Public safety comes first. Without safe streets, nothing else matters. Enforce the law, hold people accountable, and make sure we have enough police, prosecutors, and judges to actually protect the public. If criminals believe there are no consequences, they’ll act like it.
2. Housing must be attainable. That means cutting the bureaucracy that drags projects out for years and drives up costs. Streamline approvals, partner with the private sector, and build faster—without lowering standards for safety or livability.
3. Homelessness is solvable. But, that’s only if we stop pretending tents are the answer. This is a humanitarian crisis, not a permanent lifestyle choice. Housing must come with mental health care, addiction treatment, and accountability. No one should be left—or allowed—to live on the streets. It’s dangerous for them, destabilizing for neighborhoods, and proof that government is failing.
4. Local government must deliver the basics. Pick up the trash, remove graffiti, fill the potholes, fix the streetlights. People need to see their tax dollars at work. If they don’t, they lose faith in their leaders—and eventually, they pack up and leave.
Here’s the thing—I love Los Angeles. This city gave me my career, my community, my closest friends. It’s where I raised my kids and where I want to watch my grandkids grow up. But for that to happen, we must do better. We must get back to being the city people dream about coming to—not the one they dream about escaping.
Cities are America’s beating heart. For Democrats, letting them decay is political malpractice. This isn’t about moving right or left—it’s about moving forward and proving we can govern locally. Trump’s National Guard threat is a warning shot: fix our cities on our own terms now—or watch someone else do it for us, their way, and without our values or priorities in mind.
(John Shallman is an award-winning political media consultant, crisis management expert, and President of Shallman Communications in Los Angeles. He has advised presidential, gubernatorial, and local campaigns nationwide. In addition to his work in politics, Shallman is the author of the national best-selling book Return from Siberia, a memoir blending history and personal discovery. His insights on strategy and storytelling continue to shape public opinion across platforms. Learn more at www.shallmancommunications.com.)
