Council Field Trips Foster Unity

As they have been known to do in these days of reform and revolution, members of the Los Angeles City Council last week left their cloisters in City Hall and trekked out to Encino for a meeting. Even if one-third of the council couldn’t make the trip, it’s at least nice to see the others understand that night meetings away from downtown are part of the key to holding Los Angeles together.

The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting at the Encino Community Center was packed with items of interest to San Fernando Valley residents: helicopters at Van Nuys Airport, management of the Encino / Balboa Golf Course and tighter restrictions on adult businesses.

As groups throughout the city attempt to dismantle Los Angeles, the council has slowly awoken to the reality that it must do a better job of governing the nation’s second-largest city. Field trips like the one last week are a start because they bring government closer to the neighborhoods it governs. In the same way, night meetings open the process to working people who can’t afford a day off to address the council.

Government belongs to the people, and the men and women of the City Council must never forget that. Yes, night meetings and field trips are inconvenient for the council, but last time we checked, the council worked for the people of Los Angeles--and got paid fairly well for doing it. Here’s to seeing the council outside its natural habitat more often.