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CITIZEN WATCH - In ancient Athens, citizenship wasn’t a spectator sport. Ordinary people — merchants, builders, sailors, teachers — took turns serving on councils, debating laws, and helping run the city. Participation wasn’t a luxury; it was a responsibility. Civic life was the stage on which individuals practiced personal virtue and collective care.
Los Angeles may work differently today — sprawling, diverse, and complex — but the principle still applies. A city flourishes when its citizens show up for it. And as the June 2, 2026 election approaches, the work before us is not only to pick the right leader, but to become the kind of public that calls out the best in our leaders.
Step One: Focus on What We Share
Los Angeles is full of energy, yet often that energy dissipates into complaint. We argue in neighbor councils, blame distant officials, and scroll past stories of homelessness, traffic, lawlessness or corruption with weary cynicism. Athenians knew that politics begins by naming what binds people together.
Our shared burdens — homelessness, housing costs, safety, and sustainability — demand the same courage. Instead of treating these as someone else’s problem, we can ask direct, honest questions of candidates and each other:
· How does this plan reduce the number of people who must sleep on the street this year, not in a decade?
· How will each district contribute its fair share of affordable housing and public services?
· How will the city balance safety and compassion in dealing with mental illness and addiction in public spaces?
These questions ground politics in shared responsibility instead of division.
Step Two: Ask for Character, Not Showmanship
Athenians admired spirited debate but distrusted empty rhetoric. They expected their leaders to exhibit virtues — prudence, fairness, courage, and moderation — because those traits predicted steadiness under pressure. The same standard should guide Angelenos now.
When candidates announce new housing initiatives or safety crackdowns, we should press them gently but firmly: What tradeoffs will you accept? Will you stand up to wealthy landowners if needed? Will you admit what you don’t control? Candidates who acknowledge limits show more honesty than those who promise miracles.
Voters, in turn, can model what we wish to see: careful listening, giving credit where progress is real, and supporting pragmatic solutions over slogans.
Step Three: Learn the System, Then Use It Well
Athens functioned through thousands of small acts of participation — juries, assemblies, local councils — that built a habit of civic literacy. Los Angeles has its own versions: neighborhood councils, housing boards, PTAs, chambers of commerce, and community nonprofit boards.
Every Angeleno should know the basics: the city has a weak-mayor system; the City Council wields much of the real power; homelessness policy is divided among city, county, and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Understanding these facts is empowering. It means we know whom to hold accountable, and we resist the lazy assumption that “City Hall” is a single, faceless villain.
True civic engagement combines patience and persistence — showing up repeatedly, not just at election time.
Step Four: Build Up, Don’t Burn Down
Public life now often rewards outrage over substance. Social media makes it easy to mock or “cancel” leaders but harder to fix a crosswalk or attend a budget meeting. Angelenos can change that pattern. Start conversations that honor progress where it occurs, encourage collaboration instead of purity tests, and treat other residents as allies even when they disagree. Athens thrived when argument was sharp but never spiteful; that discipline is a lost art worth recovering.
Step Five: Hold to a Shared Civic Spirit
Call it civic friendship — the belief that people who share a city also share a fate. It’s the practical version of wisdom that philosophers once taught that justice begins by seeing each neighbor, housed or unhoused, as part of the same moral community.
When we vote, volunteer, or simply talk politics, we can measure our choices against one question: Will this make Los Angeles more livable, fair, and trustworthy for everyone?
That spirit — calm but engaged, critical but constructive — is what builds cities that last. In Athens, the most revered citizens weren’t the richest or loudest; they were those who combined self-control with public devotion. Los Angeles can learn from that example. We have the talent, the imagination, and the scale to make civic friendship our new model of leadership.
The next mayor will set a tone, but it’s the people who create the chorus. If we can act with steadiness and shared purpose, this election can become what Athens once called praxis — action guided by virtue — the truest expression of a free city.
"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools" Plato.
(Nick Patsaouras is an electrical engineer and civic leader whose firm has shaped projects across residential, commercial, medical, educational, institutional, and entertainment sectors. A longtime public advocate, he ran for Mayor in 1993 with a focus on rebuilding L.A. through transportation after the 1992 civil unrest. He has served on major public boards, including the Department of Water and Power, Metro, and the Board of Zoning Appeals, helping guide infrastructure and planning policy in Los Angeles. He is the author of the book "The Making of Modern Los Angeles.")
