For Those Who Can't Seem to Recall

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
President Harry S. Truman

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

For those who seem to be enthralled by the clandestine effort to recall Los Angeles councilwoman Janice Hahn, it would appear that this attempted coup d'etat by the disgruntled is fueled by a considerable amount of amnesia as to who is behind it. These less than courageous recall plotters are all about lobbing accusations, but quite short on providing proof or substance to their allegations, and have yet to provide anything that amounts to a basis for a “recallable” offense by the Councilwoman! Clearly the names of Joe Gatlin and Anthony Santich seem to be inextricably connected to the plot to overthrow the heir to the Hahn political dynasty, yet our sources seem to indicate that most, if not all, of those previously named in our June 24 article are also somehow implicated (See our article in this issue page one).

Can the Councilwoman be criticized for her time in office? ––Most certainly. But by comparison to her predecessor, Rudy Svorinich, Jr., (who claims he isn't involved in the recall effort, but who would probably benefit the most from a recall election– Janice Hahn stands as a model of public service. Rudy's denials aside, it seems like he protests too much about being included in the plot to recall.

It would appear as though the recall effort was timed, waiting to see if Hahn's lieutenant governor's bid was successful or to catch her off guard while she refocuses on 15 District politics and programs and will surely receive some conservative support because of the Councilwoman's advocacy against Arizona's SB1070 immigration law. That law was challenged today by the Obama administration's Attorney General as being unconstitutional, because of the Fed's preemptive authority over Arizona's (or any other state's right) to control both immigration and foreign policy. Janice Hahn's advocacy for the City of Los Angeles' position against Arizona's anti-immigration law is the right policy for much more fundamental human rights issues, as well as a very practical issue based on common sense community policing. After all, L.A.’s directly contrary “Special Order 40” was instituted by the ultra-conservative Chief Daryl Gates simply because involving local police in immigration enforcement undermined their ability to fight crime. In the end those who have criticized the Arizona boycott will lose on all accounts.

However, the real issues behind the recall are actually based more on the unresolved issues of the failed succession movement of 2002 and the ongoing incompetence of the City of Los Angeles to be governed by anything other than a knee-jerk reaction to either crisis or significant complaints. Janice Hahn and her brother before her, Mayor Jim Hahn, can only be blamed for holding the city together, such that it is actually held together, by the city charter. That the empire of Los Angeles, controlled as much by the DWP and at times in the Harbor Area, by the Port of LA, and not by its citizens or even their elected representatives, is more the core issue. Councilwoman Hahn's tenure in office has been a hallmark of responding to constituent complaints. This is part of the problem.

The creation of the Neighborhood Councils and the Port Community Advisory Council, as well as, other citizen advisory boards has done more in the last ten years to create the appearance of popular democracy in this city, but has not established much more than “the appearance.” The key word here being “advisory.” True empowerment does something more than give advice, yet the keepers of the real power really are not of a mind to share real power. Los Angeles, for the most part, is a very large dysfunctional collection of departments, districts, layers of bureaucracy, political influences, which only seems to gravitate around central Los Angeles power brokers, City Hall and a skyline that economically dwarfs the government. That Los Angeles as a city has held together this long is more a testament to the fact that it is built on a desert and the diverse parts of the city are held intact by one element– their reliance on water delivered by the DWP. This is a bigger issue than what one, even a very combative, councilperson can control. Los Angeles is simply too big for its own governance.

In the big picture, Janice Hahn can be criticized for not offering a better solution to the overall dysfunction of the city. She can be criticized for not putting forth a more grandiose agenda, like completing the Water Front Promenade in five years or making LA a green energy city by 2013. Yet in my estimation, she is often too cautious––a political pragmatist. And in these dire economic times, what is needed is a leader who can take this city out of the hole it's dug itself into, that can capture the imagination of the creative capital that this city holds and to move forward with a progressive vision of a city based more on decentralized democratic participation and empowerment than on top down incompetence. Clearly the Mayor is too distracted to accomplish this today.

If the councilwoman were this kind of leader, she would call a district wide summit of community leaders, neighborhood councils and CACs––calling for a consensus on a few key overarching issues to be accomplished in the years ahead–– some of them before she's termed out of office. These should include (in part) a district wide transportation master plan that connects the harbor with LAX and Long Beach by rail; the resolution of the seamless interface between the Port and community; the funding of the Marine Science Institute in the harbor; and the creation of a Port business plan that creates a partnership between Port Tech initiatives, the CRA and the community at large for business development from Wilmington to San Pedro.

This more than anything else would be Hahn's best response to a recall effort that is more of a distraction than a cure for the ills of Los Angeles and our district!