Council to Widen Pool of Speakers

The Los Angeles City Council wants to hear from a few good poets, authors and sports figures, as well as the usual rotation of priests, rabbis, monks and pastors.

The council voted unanimously Wednesday to widen the pool of speakers who give invocations at council meetings to include secular figures.

Under the new policy, the first meeting of each week would begin with an invocation or “moment of inspiration.” Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who introduced the proposal, said the council will benefit from more frequent moments of reflection. Invocations are now given monthly.

“It seems to me we can always use more inspiration and more invoking of blessings on what we do,” Hahn told her colleagues, citing the challenges posed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as one reason for the more frequent rituals.

“It doesn’t have to just be religious people of different faiths,” Hahn said. “Many people can bring us a moment of inspiration.”

Speakers are selected on a rotating basis by the city clerk from a list of names submitted by the 15 council members.

The council vote also reduced the number of times the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited at council meetings.

Before Sept. 11, the council said it only at the first meeting of the month. After the terrorist attack, Council President Alex Padilla called for the pledge at every meeting. The new policy calls for the pledge once a week.