PERSPECTIVE ON REBUILD L.A. : Business as Usual: Recipe for Failure : Government of the people doesn’t always work for the people. We must change the ways of City Hall.

A few weeks ago, the volunteers at RLA were given their first real civics lesson, compliments of the Los Angeles City Council. As a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development, we were invited to appear before the council and report on our activities. It was, for RLA, the opportunity to tell an exciting story.

You see, unlike Newark, Chicago, Washington and other cities torn by riots in the 1960s--cities that have seen little development in the past 25 years--Los Angeles is recovering from the 1992 riots and business is working to remove the scars. In addition, our testimony was the best way to demonstrate to our local elected officials that many businesses and organizations--in addition to RLA (Rebuild L.A.)--are part of this renaissance.

We left City Hall wondering if our message had been heard. Some of the City Council members who invited us didn’t listen to the presentations, which were made by RLA’s multiethnic leadership. They chose instead to take phone calls or hold conversations with others. Three council members, including one mayoral candidate, did not attend. Our one request--that City Hall partner with the private sector (not just RLA) as the only solution to achieve greater results in this effort--was not acknowledged.

The issues that RLA is attempting to address are serious: to create jobs in the areas of highest poverty in Los Angeles County; to increase local ownership of business; to improve access to capital for these same businesses; to provide better worker training, including programs that lead to a job upon graduation (14 such programs are already in progress); and to encourage the government to be more responsive to the communities in need.

For me, these goals have become priorities. They join another set of initiatives that were developed by the Council on California Competitiveness, a statewide organization that I chair, composed of business and labor leaders. For two years, I have served this great state, first with the Competitiveness Council then at RLA. The purpose of both organizations: to find the way to make California the best place to live and do business.

Volunteers at both organizations reached the same conclusion when it came to the role of government in this effort: The government of the people was not necessarily working for the people. Both the Competitiveness Council and RLA acknowledge that our elected officials have a great opportunity to change the economic landscape and help businesses of all sizes create jobs. However, we also discovered that government is not likely to seize this opportunity and is less than willing to take a political risk by working closely with the private sector.

For a cynic, this is old news. But I have found few cynics in California. Most employers and employees want to stay. They just need a chance to survive and make a profit.

It’s not a hopeless situation. Everyone who is eligible to vote is responsible for the quality of the elected officials that represent us. And we are fortunate: There will be many opportunities over the next few years to determine how we will be served by legislators who represent us in Washington, Sacramento and City Hall.

For starters, look at the election for mayor in Los Angeles. The issues were well reported; most of us are aware of the growing budget deficit in Los Angeles, a situation that will be even more critical should Sacramento succeed in cutting $350 million in funding to the city. The options available to the new mayor will be few. It will be necessary to be innovative and creative. Above all else, he must be willing to partner with the private sector to find solutions. In other words, he must also be willing to change City Hall. Business as usual just won’t work.