L.A. Council Jobs Keep Heavyweights Hopping

Tony Cardenas’ Los Angeles City Hall office is decorated with framed copies of grand pieces of legislation that he sponsored in the state Assembly. But now that he’s on the City Council, Cardenas is issuing news releases on smaller matters, such as one bragging about the removal of seven dead animals from San Fernando Valley streets.

Meanwhile, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa -- a former speaker of the Assembly and a national political player -- enthusiastically describes the 1,400 bags of trash that he and constituents picked up recently.

When new council members took their seats last summer, there was much talk about how these heavyweight political players -- including not just Cardenas and Villaraigosa, but also former Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and Martin Ludlow, who worked as a top aide to Villaraigosa and Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson -- would sweep in and turn City Hall on its head.

But as they settle into office, many of these bigwigs say that instead of teaching City Hall a lesson, they have become humble students of the challenges of governing at the local level.

That is especially true for officials back from Sacramento, where the proposals often are grander but the process can be slower. Not to mention that constituents are no longer hundreds of miles away, meaning even a routine trip to the dry cleaners can, and often does, turn into an impromptu conference.

“If you think gun control, abortion and gay and lesbian civil rights are controversial issues, try a stop sign, a speed bump or a tree that needs trimming,” Villaraigosa said.

Parks, who took his seat in the spring, said he was particularly struck by the range of issues that council members must respond to, from mundane matters such as closing streets for a block party to weighty questions such as how to provide services when there is no money to pay for them. The former police chief, who recently has become an expert on the difference between speed bumps and speed humps (bumps are taller, while humps are shorter and longer), said he thought he had a lot to keep track of when he was in charge of the Police Department. But in terms of the range of issues, “it’s not anywhere close,” he said.

Given that learning curve, many of the new council members said it was a natural decision to spend their first few months in office studying the nuts and bolts of the job. Some had not set out in their political careers with the goal of becoming a council member. But in an era of term limits, they sought their seats because they were forced out of other offices.

Cardenas and Villaraigosa were both termed out of the Assembly, and Villaraigosa then lost a bid for mayor to James K. Hahn. Parks was pushed out of the Police Department and Hahn appointed William J. Bratton to replace him.

With a maximum of eight years on the City Council, many have an eye on higher office even as they race around their districts filling potholes. Parks and Villaraigosa have been mentioned as future mayoral candidates. Other council members are said to be considering runs for Congress or state office.

But to launch such a campaign, they have to solidify support in their council districts. The natural way to do that -- while at the same time allaying fears that they may not really be committed to local issues -- is to emphasize constituent services.

After all, noted Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who acquired the nickname “the Pothole Queen” during her first year in office, “You won’t be a council member for long if you won’t deal with those basics. You can’t just focus on the big-picture items.”

So they emphasize the little things. After Cardenas’ first 100 days in office, he issued a news release detailing the 943 abandoned vehicles and 2,864 bulky items that he had picked up, along with the 134 potholes he had plugged and the 30 alleys he had cleaned. Not to mention those dead animals, which, an aide quickly explained, the dapper councilman did not actually scoop up himself.

Parks, meanwhile, has taken to cruising the streets of his South Los Angeles district with a hand-held tape recorder at his lips. His eyes are peeled not for felons, as in former days, but for discarded sofas and derelict cars. The only giveaway to his former role: his frequent use of police jargon in describing the location of blighted objects.

Nearby, in his district, Ludlow rented big buses and took scores of neighborhood council representatives on a tour of southwestern Los Angeles. He also organized a youth program to keep children out of trouble on warm nights when violence has historically been most acute.

And Villaraigosa has turned himself into the Pied Piper of constituent services, leading thousands of residents in steam-cleaning sidewalks, planting trees and removing graffiti. He also has made it a point to visit the crime scene of every homicide in his area.

Political scientist Raphael Sonenshein said he was delighted to hear about Villaraigosa’s trash bags and Cardenas’ dead animal removals. “There’s an incredible amount of government experience on this council,” said Sonenshein, a Cal State Fullerton professor and author. “I always wondered whether these legislators would be able to get down and dirty on tree trimming and dead animals and traffic lights being out. That’s a huge part of being a city official.”

Even as they find their footing, however, the new members also must figure out a new role for the council -- and they must do it in the context of an ever-worsening financial picture that sharply limits new programs.

The council that took office last summer is the first one completely remade by term limits. Now, instead of having decades to shape their agenda, as was the case in years past, these officials have a maximum of two terms -- a mere eight years -- to make their mark and position themselves for their next role.

They also are grappling with a changed City Charter, which three years ago stripped away some of the council’s power over the mammoth municipal bureaucracy and gave it to the mayor. “It’s a matter of taking all this government talent and devising a new role for the City Council,” Sonenshein said.

Councilman Greig Smith, who spent two decades working for now-retired Councilman Hal Bernson before taking his seat in July, said he has been surprised that many of the former state legislators seem to be focusing on their districts and on learning the ropes of City Hall. “The pace is very fast here. The workload is very heavy. And it’s much different than Sacramento,” he said. “It took them a longer time to acclimate themselves than they thought, and so those agendas may not have come forward yet.”

But Smith does not see that as a bad thing. The Republican from the San Fernando Valley, who has talked of going backpacking in the Grand Canyon with the liberal Villaraigosa, believes that’s what council members should focus on. “What we do here in the city is not these large social agendas,” he said. “We fix potholes. We pave streets. That’s the boring side of local government.”

In the coming months, though, other council members say, they also hope to make their mark with far-reaching programs or new laws that will shape the city for decades to come. Parks is pushing to bring a National Football League team to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Cardenas’ office said he plans to return to several issues that he worked on at the state level, including pushing for more resources to keep young people away from crime, as well as creating stricter environmental regulations in the San Fernando Valley. Ludlow and Villaraigosa jumped into action on the recent transit strike, bringing a successful lawsuit against the county to get themselves a seat at the bargaining table. The strike was settled soon after negotiations resumed.

“Solving citywide problems is a right you earn when you’ve taken care of the district,” said Councilman Eric Garcetti. But he added that he is looking forward to the progressive issues that he thinks this council will be able to push, among them new land-use rules.

Villaraigosa, for one, said he is enthusiastic about the challenge. The councilman said that when he announced that he would seek the office, many thought the job “would not be big enough” for him, that he would not be interested in local issues. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it,” he said of his former job as Assembly speaker. But “I really am having a ball. I am committed to engaging people. People get very emotional about local issues. I think they do because, different than those broader issues, they feel like they can have an impact.”

As an example, Villaraigosa said his constituents treat him differently now that he is their local representative. When he was in state office, residents wanted autographs or pictures with him. They still do, he said, but they no longer just smile and walk away when the ceremonies are over. Now they present him with “to do” lists.