Tony Cardenas' Los Angeles City Hall office is decorated with framed copies of grand pieces of legislation that he sponsored in the state Assembly. But now that he's on the City Council, Cardenas is issuing news releases on smaller matters, such as one bragging about the removal of seven dead animals from San Fernando Valley streets.
Meanwhile, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa -- a former speaker of the Assembly and a national political player -- enthusiastically describes the 1,400 bags of trash that he and constituents picked up recently.
When new council members took their seats last summer, there was much talk about how these heavyweight political players -- including not just Cardenas and Villaraigosa, but also former Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and Martin Ludlow, who worked as a top aide to Villaraigosa and Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson -- would sweep in and turn City Hall on its head.
But as they settle into office, many of these bigwigs say that instead of teaching City Hall a lesson, they have become humble students of the challenges of governing at the local level.
That is especially true for officials back from Sacramento, where the proposals often are grander but the process can be slower. Not to mention that constituents are no longer hundreds of miles away, meaning even a routine trip to the dry cleaners can, and often does, turn into an impromptu conference.
"If you think gun control, abortion and gay and lesbian civil rights are controversial issues, try a stop sign, a speed bump or a tree that needs trimming," Villaraigosa said.
Parks, who took his seat in the spring, said he was particularly struck by the range of issues that council members must respond to, from mundane matters such as closing streets for a block party to weighty questions such as how to provide services when there is no money to pay for them. The former police chief, who recently has become an expert on the difference between speed bumps and speed humps (bumps are taller, while humps are shorter and longer), said he thought he had a lot to keep track of when he was in charge of the Police Department. But in terms of the range of issues, "it's not anywhere close," he said.
Given that learning curve, many of the new council members said it was a natural decision to spend their first few months in office studying the nuts and bolts of the job. Some had not set out in their political careers with the goal of becoming a council member. But in an era of term limits, they sought their seats because they were forced out of other offices.
