Letters: Arthur K. Snyder, an L.A. character

Re “Arthur K. Snyder: 1932-2012 L.A. lobbyist, councilman larger than life,” Obituary, Nov. 7

I was saddened to read of the death of Art Snyder, the former L.A. Council member. He was, as your obituary pointed out, a unique and colorful politician.

I remember him chairing a City Council committee meeting, listening to a lobbyist drone on and reading at the same time. The speaker concluded with a not-so-thinly veiled threat against the city.

Snyder looked up, glared at the lobbyist and said, “If you think you can push the city of Los Angeles around, you’re blowing your horn up the wrong bush.”

The audience chuckled quietly, recognizing that he had combined “blowing your own horn,” “barking up the wrong tree” and “beating around the bush” into a new and superbly mixed metaphor. I’ll miss him.

Phil Aker
Los Angeles

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