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MY THOUGHTS - Los Angeles’ political system is broken. It lacks discipline and decisive action. The political class has left it unmotivated and apathetic.
Indeed, our beloved city is confronted with multifaceted and interrelated challenges, while the current political leadership falls short in addressing these issues through sustained, principled governance that characterizes effective statecraft—the judicious management of public affairs.
But it can be modified. Statesmen can step in and become the operational glue that holds society together. These leaders unify, streamline, and maintain stability. They counter division, reinforce legitimacy, and define common goals. Vision, courage, integrity, accountability, effectiveness, and civility are essential qualities for such people.
So, where are such statesmen today?
Unfortunately, today such individuals are scarce or invisible. They are difficult to find since in our city risk aversion shapes politics, and people no longer have an appetite for long-term views. At the same time, tough choices are needed for critical issues such as quality of life, homelessness and housing, safety and prosperity. But civic trust is eroding and voters are increasingly divided.
Worse yet, Los Angeles’ structure makes it difficult for statesmanship. A weak mayor system and term limits hinder strong civic leadership, while fragmented media and declining local journalism lessen accountability. Because media outlets do not employ "beat" journalists with institutional memory, their reporting tends to be shallow and lacks significance.
Unfortunately, the civic ecosystem, the network of people and organizations in the community, has changed. Now people ask what Los Angeles can do for them instead of what they can do for the city. This is the echo that bounces off City Hall walls, banks, law firms, and a myriad of other institutions.
When the systems of governance lack capacity and effectiveness and fail to foster accountability, performers are produced, not stewards. Needed but absent is the statesperson who plans for the future, focuses on lasting institutions and enduring societies, and prioritizes long-term stability over immediate popularity.
More than ever, Los Angeles needs a statesperson. Not just a charismatic mayor or an effective manager, but someone who can bring coherence to fragmented issues, assume political risks for the benefit of the public, and provide a long-term vision that extends beyond immediate concerns. LA today lacks a shared story about what it is becoming.
After many years of dedicated effort to develop Los Angeles into a world-class city, our civic identity, which is essential for uniting the city’s diverse communities, has been diminished. A statesperson can reframe the city’s narrative.
It is a fact that cities with strong civic cultures cultivate statesmen, better known leaders who think beyond local politics. They act as stewards rather than partisans. And they come backgrounds and colors.
Los Angeles’ golden age was the result of its leaders and statesmen, the period when it underwent physical, economic, political and cultural transformation, when it gave birth to a modern transit system. The city became a global metropolis, a mega city, rather than dispersed suburbs. Downtown acquired a new skyline, became a legitimate financial and business center, built world-class museums, expanded performing arts institutions, embraced public art as civic identity.
New York, more than other American cities, had leaders who thought in decades, and they were not always mayors but public authorities, planners or power brokers who operated on time horizons far longer than electoral cycles.
Chicago is also known as a city where long-term planning was once seen as a civic religion, where the political machine, for all its flaws, created continuity, and where the city’s elite institutions contemplated in decades. Leaders emerged from Chicago’s civic elite foundations, universities, and cultural institutions than from its elected officials.
Leaders must act with vision and courage for lasting impact. In my public service, I have prioritized honesty, integrity, courage and results. I share this story due to the urgency of the moment.
Cicero, the prominent statesman of the late Roman republic, wrote: “The aim of our ideal statesman is the citizens' happy life — that is, a life secure in wealth, rich in resources, abundant in renown, and honorable in its moral character.”
(Nick Patsaouras is an electrical engineer, civic leader and 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 Los Angeles 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.")
