Letters to the Editor: Los Angeles could learn a thing or two from Paris’ leadership
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- As Los Angeles voters brace for a mayoral runoff, one reader laments having to choose a “flawed” Democrat mainly to block an inexperienced reality TV candidate.
- Returning from Paris’ record heat wave, she describes a city transformed under socialist ex-Mayor Anne Hidalgo: greener streets, fewer cars, cleaner air and a more livable urban core.
- Pointing to Hidalgo’s crisis-tested tenure and “15-minute city” vision, the letter urges Los Angeles to elect leaders bold enough to confront climate change and reimagine urban life.
To the editor: Watching the Los Angeles mayoral election play out, I find it remarkable that so many Angelenos were forced into a strategic calculation: How do we elect a flawed Democrat while preventing an inexperienced reality TV celebrity from leading the city into further chaos and decline (“How Mayor Karen Bass weathered a brutal campaign and won a spot in the Nov. 3 runoff,” June 4)?
I recently returned from Paris, where I experienced “la canicule,” the intense summer heat wave. What struck me was how manageable it felt compared with Los Angeles.
After 12 years under former Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a socialist, Paris has become abundantly greener, healthier and more livable. The city boasts more trees, more open space, fewer cars, improved air quality and significantly reduced air pollution. Whether Parisians love or hate her, Hidalgo left behind a city where people can comfortably live, work and thrive.
Her tenure was also marked by extraordinary challenges. She guided Paris through COVID-19, a multitude of terrorist attacks, the Notre Dame Cathedral fire and the 2024 Summer Olympics, while advancing ambitious ideas such as “the 15-minute city.”
Why can’t Los Angeles produce more candidates willing to think beyond conventional politics and dare to imagine a different future, a better one? Especially when the greatest challenge facing our community is the climate crisis, we need leaders with vision, courage and a commitment to building a city that is not only resilient, but also truly livable and safe.
Yasmin Netervala-Iseli, Zurich
