In a Fractured City, More Can Be Merrier

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer found himself at a Sherman Oaks elementary school one day recently, giving an impromptu civics lesson. When Feuer told me how he explained his position on secession, I was expecting to hear an elementary analogy.

Something like: “What if some students on the left side of the classroom wanted to put up a little wall in the middle of the room? What if the Leftsiders wanted to hold an election on the wall--an election in which only Leftsiders were allowed to vote. Would that be fair to the Rightsiders?”

But that’s not what Feuer said. To these “sharp sixth-graders,” the councilman explained that the Los Angeles Harbor, owned by the city, provides economic benefits throughout L.A., including the San Fernando Valley. Would it be fair to people in the Valley if San Pedro residents decided to leave Los Angeles and take “their” harbor with them?

The tale says much about the political character of Mike Feuer. His forthright opposition to Assemblywoman Paula Boland’s secession bill suggests Feuer may be one of those rare elected officials motivated more by principle than by parochial pressures and political expediency. Even to sixth-graders, he tried to explain the complexities of Los Angeles--perhaps inadvertently demonstrating his difficulty in simplifying matters into nice sound bites.

In his 11 months on the council, the lanky, 38-year-old politician has developed a reputation for being nothing if not earnest. This was evident again Tuesday when he introduced a motion for the creation of a 21-member panel to reform Los Angeles’ 71-year-old city charter.

The motion, seconded by six council members and backed by several Valley community leaders, represents at long last an effort to channel the divisive energy of secession sentiment into a constructive reform.

Making lemonade out of the Boland bill is a fine idea. Feuer and community leaders such as attorney David Fleming speak hopefully of restructuring and streamlining the city’s charter--essentially, its constitution--in a way that further empowers residents, improves the delivery of services and enhances accountability.

Exactly what a new charter might look like is anybody’s guess. Fleming, the man Mayor Riordan dubbed “Mr. San Fernando Valley” in announcing his appointment to the Fire Commission, has talked about the need for charter reform for years, suggesting that L.A. might develop a borough system, like New York’s, to give residents more local control. In endorsing the charter review, Riordan, who would get six appointees to the panel to one each for the council members, surprised no one by suggesting a new charter should enhance the mayor’s authority. Feuer said that--who knows?--the panel might decide that Los Angeles would be better served by 30 council districts instead of 15.

Most politicians are loath to even speculate about decreasing their power, much less chopping their fiefdoms in half. This, too, says something about Feuer and, perhaps, the district he represents, which includes the Valley north of Mulholland and the Westside to the south.

The Fifth District is, from a political standpoint, an utterly beautiful power base, with an affluent, politically active constituency. Look at a map and you’ll see it’s located in the geographic heart of Los Angeles.

No wonder Zev Yaroslavsky, after deciding to leave the council to make his successful run for the county Board of Supervisors, wanted to keep it in the family. But Feuer, a Harvard-educated attorney who ran the Bet Tzedek legal clinic for eight years, defeated Yaroslavsky’s wife, Barbara, to serve out the unfinished term. He’ll be up for reelection next April.

For Feuer, who lives south of Mulholland, the fact that the Fifth bridges the Santa Monica Mountains has been a source of some frustration; Valley separatists have ripped him for opposing the Boland bill.

Feuer sees in secession sentiment a dissatisfaction with city government pervasive throughout Los Angeles. And when he attends neighborhood meetings, the councilman says he is reminded of Tip O’Neill’s maxim, “All politics is local.”

Very local. Instead of such sweeping issues as secession and the police buildup debate, Feuer says, residents mostly want to discuss development issues near their homes and such matters as speed bumps and slow traffic. Neither secession nor police build-up has generated nearly as much public reaction as the controversy surrounding the proposed transfer of a popular park director at the Studio City Recreation Center. (Feuer opposed director Jon Klay’s transfer; Klay eventually resigned to accept another job offer.)

About 80 parents called to protest. “The reason the Studio City park issue resonated so much with parents was because the director had created such a sense of community,” Feuer said. Mothers told him how they could call Klay at 4:30 p.m. and find out precisely what their children were doing.

This was an example of a neighborhood feeling powerless against the workings of the City Hall bureaucracy. But Feuer also touts recent examples of “neighborhood empowerment,” such as residents’ input on development of a long-blighted stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks and plans for what to do with a vacant lot next to the Studio City Branch Library.

Sometimes L.A. works and sometimes it doesn’t. Feuer figures that 21 Angelenos, earnestly working together, might be able to figure out a way to make it work better.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.

The Fifth District is, from a political standpoint, an utterly beautiful power base, with an affluent, politically active constituency.