Councils Could Help Residents’ Power to Surge

A few days before last Christmas, a bullet severed a main power line in South Los Angeles, sending an uncontrolled power surge through homes and businesses.

The surge wrecked every kind of electric appliance in a several block area. “I lost two TVs--a floor model and a 19-inch set--a microwave and a VCR,” said Mary Lee. Other residents of the working class, mostly black and Latino neighborhood told much the same story.

Residents complained to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, asking to be reimbursed for the damage. But the DWP, which installed and owns the line, replied that it wasn’t liable. The damage, the DWP officials said, was caused by a random bullet, not department negligence.

The neighbors grumbled and stewed but could get no satisfaction from the city. Despite City Hall’s rhetoric about being user-friendly, you’ve got to know somebody, or a big campaign contributor, to get fast action--or any action--out of the place. The issue here was as much about lack of attention from City Hall as reimbursement.

Finally, word of their troubles reached Ricardo Torres, a young attorney who specializes in the complaints of South L.A. homeowners.

Torres, who is also a candidate in Tuesday’s election for membership on the proposed City Charter reform commission, knows a good issue when he sees one. He threatened a lawsuit and organized a community meeting, inviting the press and demanding the presence of Mayor Richard Riordan, City Atty. James Hahn and City Councilwoman Rita Walters, who represents the area.

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Pilgrim Community Church, where the meeting was held Wednesday night, is a small wood structure. It resembles a humble country church, stuck in the middle of a block of old L.A. bungalows. The church itself looked as though it had once been one of those bungalows until it was dedicated to the service of God.

About 50 men and women stood in front of the church in the early evening chill, forced outside because the sanctuary was too small. Some were uneasy about being there. An hour and 15 minutes before, a man had been shot to death and two others were badly wounded in a drive-by a few blocks away. Some of those at the meeting had watched the wounded victims being taken away.

As we talked, I heard a crackle in the distance that did, indeed, sound like gunfire.

I thought about the determination shown by those men and women in leaving their homes and walking and driving through dangerous streets to demand a fair deal from the Department of Water and Power.

The fact that they made such a trek demonstrates the financial blow from the loss of their appliances.

Most of the people at the meeting didn’t have anti-surge devices or homeowners insurance. The damage came at the worst time, just as they were using scarce dollars for Christmas shopping.

Their complaints had been ignored. Mayor Riordan, City Atty. Hahn and Councilwoman Walters didn’t show up. “I think it is because there are Mexicans and blacks in the neighborhood,” said resident Carol Harrison, a Los Angeles County home health care worker.

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In the end, somebody listened. After receiving a letter from lawyer Torres threatening a class action lawsuit, and hearing of the church meeting, Walters introduced a resolution Friday asking the Department of Water and Power to “provide relief and assistance” to the 187 families that suffered losses from the power surge.

That’s fine, but it doesn’t get to the heart of the problem--a city government that confronts its citizens with a stone wall of unresponsiveness.

City departments, such as the DWP, are too big and powerful to be penetrated by the complaints of ordinary citizens. Rank and file Angelenos find it difficult to get through to elected officials unless they are big contributors or leaders of influential neighborhood groups.

That’s why L.A. needs neighborhood councils to give us a place to take our complaints, and maybe get action.

Charter reform, supported by Mayor Riordan and his opponent, state Sen. Tom Hayden, promises such councils. If we end up with them, the mayor can be forgiven for missing the meeting at Pilgrim Community Church.