2012 – A Big Year Ahead

2012 will be a big political year, we’ll be voting for president and other elected officials. City elections don’t take place till March of 2013, but the campaigns will largely be waged this year.
Bill Rosendahl, our city councilman, is up for reelection to his third and final term. It’s highly unlikely he’ll face any serious opposition, so it’s safe to predict he’ll nab most of the votes – as well he should.
Bill has been a phenomenally enthusiastic and conscientious representative for Brentwood and the rest of the Westside. He does his homework, he follows through, he loves what he does.
I recently asked Bill if the “whiners†ever got to him. Have you ever been to one of those community meetings in which all anyone does is complain, complain, complain? You know what I’m talking about.
He just smiled when I asked the question. He didn’t want to say anything bad about anybody or any part of the messy and mysterious and wonderful process we call democracy. Bill says he loves all of God’s children equally and that the process, no matter how seemingly inefficient, works in the end.
Bill told me he is thinking about running for U.S. Senate if and when Dianne Feinstein ever decides to retire. Wow!
I wondered why his name never came up on the lists of mayoral hopefuls; it appears maybe Bill had something different in mind. He’s a big thinker and since he loves everyone, maybe he can help reduce the toxicity that’s so prominent in Washington today.
Speaking of mayoral hopefuls, it sure seems like the time is upon Zev Yaroslavsky to decide if he’s in the race or not. It feels like others are now generating some serious momentum that might be hard to overtake.
Eric Garcetti, whose parents live in Brentwood, spoke at a fundraiser here recently (see page 11). He is running for mayor and has been for some time. Eric was impressive and his optimistic vision for the future of LA is infectious. It sounds like he did a terrific job breathing new life into his district over in the Hollywood/Silverlake area. He is credited with doing a good job as president of the city council.
Other candidates to replace Antonio Villaraigosa look strong as well. Wendy Greuel’s shining the light on questionable spending is timely in an era of general economic malaise. It feels like we’ll be presented with lots of good choices.
Mike Feuer, our state assemblyman, is being termed out of office. I have sat through a lot of presentations over the years, and I think Mike has an extraordinary gift for taking incredibly complicated subjects and explaining them in a way that any fifth grader could likely follow. That’s a compliment.
His heart is in the right place and he makes his constituents proud. Soon he’ll be running for City Attorney; I know the vast majority of Brentwoodians wish him well in that race.
In coming issues of the Brentwood News, we’ll interview those seeking to replace Mike. But Mike will be missed, to be sure.
There’s an old saying, people tend to not like congress but they like their own congressman. Most Westsiders certainly admire Henry Waxman. He’s got to be a tad miserable serving in the minority party; maybe that will change come November, we’ll see.
Circling back to Brentwood, I think Nancy Freedman has done a spectacular job as head of the Brentwood Community Council, or BCC. She keeps things moving, she keeps things light. People actually laugh now and then. She has made the BCC fun again.
Many in these positions have a tendency to take themselves way too seriously; everything becomes a now or never, life-or-death confrontation. Nancy seems to believe in the old adage, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff.â€
That doesn’t mean she and her colleagues don’t get things done, they do. And much of what Nancy and her colleagues do is very positive; she doesn’t define herself (and the rest of the BCC, by extension) by what she opposes.
Much of what the BCC does is mundane and thankless – but important. It’s easier to move things forward when there’s less antagonism in the room.
Brentwood is lucky to have so many fine individuals working on our behalf. But democracy really can’t be dependent on elected officials alone. We need an engaged citizenry. Are YOU doing enough for your community? If not, there’s always room at the table for those willing to roll up their sleeves.