On Hahn’s Agenda ...

In his victory speech, Mayor-elect James K. Hahn thanked far-flung areas of Los Angeles, “from San Pedro to Sylmar, from Westchester to Boyle Heights, from Watts to Canoga Park.” What’s striking about his choices is that they are the everyday, unglamorous parts of Los Angeles, where families live their whole lives. The communities Hahn cited spoke volumes about his comfort and familiarity with the city. It means he understands all of Los Angeles, and that gives him an advantage as he prepares to set an agenda to lead it.

What should the new mayor do?

* Education: Parents are fed up with the LAUSD’s bumbling. In poll after poll, education came up as the No. 1 issue in this election, even though the mayor has no formal role in managing the public schools. School construction is the one thing on which the mayor can provide direct leadership, and this issue should lead Mayor-elect Hahn’s agenda. During his campaign, he promised to create a city-school construction authority to identify sites for new schools and help speed up the process of buying them. He should move quickly on this. In addition, his office can help expedite city permits, and he can make a case to the public when a proposed site proves unpopular. He can also jawbone architects and landscapers to provide free help.

Hahn has promised to lobby Washington and Sacramento for money to improve and expand “LA’s Best,” the city’s award-winning after-school program that serves about one-third of the elementary campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. That’s another good move to show that education, the top priority for voters, is also the top priority for the mayor.

* LAPD: No city can be successful if its citizens fear crime or--worse--the police. That’s why Hahn must restore citizens’ and officers’ faith in the Los Angeles Police Department.

Hahn’s most important early signal will be his appointments to the Police Commission, the local civilian body that oversees the LAPD and the police chief. He should appoint independent thinkers. Hahn pushed hard to make sure that the city approved a consent decree with the Justice Department, ensuring outside oversight in the hopes of avoiding another corruption scandal like Rampart. He and his commission choices must continue to stand up for all provisions of the decree.

* MTA: Los Angeles’ notoriously poor public transportation system must also be among Hahn’s top priorities. As mayor, he will control four seats on the 13-member Metropolitan Transit Authority. That means he will wield tremendous influence over how quickly buses get added to the system and how quickly sensible light-rail projects like the east-west Exposition Line get going.

* Traffic: The mayor can make sure that the city Department of Transportation follows through on his common-sense traffic management proposals, as first articulated by former candidate Steve Soboroff. These include reversible lanes, more left turn pockets and better signal synchronization.

* LAX: The mayor can’t talk about transportation without including the regional airport crunch and the overcrowding at LAX. Before the campaign heated up, Hahn seemed open to pushing for LAX expansion, as well as forcing greater use of regional airports. We suggest he put a dogged, committed point-person to take this issue to Sacramento and Washington, where he or she should demand help and encourage regional cooperation.

* A Vision: The final item on the agenda is toughest because it’s visceral: Hahn must sell this city to itself. The mayor needs to find new examples to tell Angelenos about who we are and why people from all states and every reach of the globe beg, borrow or steal a way to get here. Talking constantly about those advantages and finding a way to integrate the fabulous art and culture of Los Angeles is an underused tool against secessionist grumblings. Jim Hahn knows the various corners of Los Angeles as few politicians do. Let him introduce them to each other.