Want exciting mayoral news? Don’t look to Los Angeles
Wait a second: Didn’t we just elect a new L.A. mayor? Anyone seen or heard from him? Anyone?
OK, yes, I know that Eric Garcetti is now mayor of Los Angeles. Replaced that Villaraigosa guy. Took office July 1; spent his first day “sitting down with business leaders and holding afternoon office hours for Angelenos to speak their minds, part of his promise to embrace a ‘listen, then lead’ style of governance at City Hall,†The Times reported.
Since then, though, he mostly seems to have spent his time spending our money hiring people -- primarily people who helped get him elected, such as ex-mayoral rivals Jan Perry and Kevin James. And picking a fight with someone who most certainly didn’t help get him elected, Brian D’Arcy, head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18 over at the Department of Water and Power (otherwise known as “Heaven on Earth†for working stiffs, both healthy and sick).
Oh, and he’s in the process of interviewing city department heads, having asked all of them to reapply for their jobs by appearing before him for a little face time. Kind of like Michael Corleone, I guess, after the old don died -- but without the organized crime angle, of course.
Which is all well and good. But it’s not exactly FDR’s First Hundred Days, is it? Heck, it’s not even Antonio Villaraigosa’s First Hundred Hours.
It’s more a “Keep Calm and Carry On†approach. Too bad we aren’t British.
Actually, it reminds me a little of Christmas toys. Villaraigosa was like a brand-new G.I. Joe, thrilling and wonderful -- until the next day when his arms fell off and his leg broke and he didn’t work anymore.
Garcetti, on the other hand, is, well, socks. Or jeans. Or a new sweater. You know: Thanks, Grandma, I really needed that.
Sure, things could be worse. We could be San Diego and have a mayor like Bob Filner, with his unique dress code advice and wandering hands. Or we could be New York, cowering in fear that somehow, Anthony Weiner and his not-so-smartphone will find their way to City Hall.
So I’m not complaining, really. Rather, I’m just wondering: If there’s a mayor in the city but no one notices, can he still lead us out of the woods?
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