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≡ UNDERSTANDING L.A. ≡
If you are among the many who are confused about the drama and tension in Los Angeles “just” three years in front of the 2028 Olympic Games, this is for you.
Rick Cole is one of the longest-serving and most respected public officials in the history of Southern California. Now 72, he has been the Mayor of Pasadena, and the city manager for the cities of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. He served as a Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles from 2013-15 and as the Deputy City Controller from 2022 until retiring at the end of June.
His retirement from the City of Los Angeles wasn’t about retiring, but to spend more time in his position as a Pasadena City Council member, a post he won last December.
Cole was recognized for his outstanding service by the Los Angeles City Council on 25 June 2025, and he gave a short address to the Council and to the many co-workers and friends in the Council Chamber.
His commentary is one of the best summaries ever presented of the challenges Los Angeles faces, and he also offered ideas on how to meet them:
“I’ll never forget the awe I felt walking into these chambers on December 21, 1985. I was Senior Deputy to [Councilman] Richard Alatorre on his first day in office.
“Now, after four decades of public service, I’ve never been so alarmed about our future. You know the converging challenges facing this city.
“A state of emergency on homelessness. A devastating firestorm. A crisis in affordable housing. Thousands of City jobs eliminated. And a Federal administration literally at war with the government and the people of Los Angeles.
“Those are the headlines. Then there are the insidious threats of a weakening economy, a crumbling infrastructure, grotesque inequality of wealth, and failing public trust in government’s ability to confront these existential challenges.
“If we can’t pave our streets, repair our sidewalks, house our homeless, trim our trees, light our bridges, and fix our firetrucks, how can we host an Olympics in just three years?
“L.A. is a complex city with four million people. Over 400 square miles. More than forty departments, more than 40,000 staff. On a good day, it’s an incredibly difficult city to manage. And lately we haven’t had many good days.
“What makes this all so much harder is that L.A. is not designed to work.
“That’s not a criticism. That’s an historic fact. Because a hundred years ago, the authors of the City Charter designed this government to avoid the corruption they saw in Chicago and New York.
“They deliberately designed a government where authority was widely dispersed. To avoid abuse, they made power diffuse.
“L.A. worked despite the flawed Charter! It was the climate, the power of industry and entertainment, and above all, the incredible diversity and creative spirit of the people of L.A. that made this city the embodiment of the California dream.
“But things that can’t go on forever, don’t.
“For decades, this city has ridden the cycles of boom and bust, making short-term decisions with long-term consequences. For decades, this city systematically underinvested in modernizing its infrastructure. For decades, city government systematically underinvested in training, technology, equipment and facilities. For decades, city government has perpetuated outmoded practices that are simply unsustainable in the world we live in.
“This is a moment of truth. I know some people say: we’ve had hard times before and L.A. has always come back stronger.
“It’s tempting to rely on our resilience, to hope this too shall pass. But that’s not the world we live in. Hope is not a plan.
“Two months ago in these Chambers, Mayor [Karen] Bass recognized the gravity of this moment.
“She said, ‘We need a fundamental overhaul of City government to deliver the clean, safe and orderly neighborhoods that Angelenos deserve in the place they call home – and to reverse decades of failure on homelessness.’
“She’s right! That’s exactly what’s needed to meet the moment: bold, systemic change.
“It’s time to redesign L.A. to work.
“Mayors need a Chief Operating Officer to work across department silos. Rigorous, innovative citywide management is why cities like Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pasadena can deliver far more effective and efficient outcomes.
“Your department general managers need to be freed from micro-managment. Empower them to actually run their departments, so you can hold them accountable for doing the job they’re paid to do.
“L.A. needs a Chief Financial Officer to put our fiscal house in order. We need a two-year budget and a real, five-year capital plan. Time to shift from base budgeting to performance budgeting. Allocate resources to what actually works – away from what doesn’t. It’s not rocket science!
“You can’t have a world-class workforce unless you invest in world-class training, technology, equipment and facilities.
“It’s past time to reform an antiquated Civil Service system designed for the world of typewriters and radios, while today we live in a world of artificial intelligence and digital data.
“Empower your workers! No level of pay can compensate for working in a mind-numbing bureaucracy. You have dedicated public servants who strive to keep this City running – despite everything! Why not truly partner with labor? Unleash the innovative spirit of front-line workers to redesign services to live within our means.
“Maybe you have different ideas, maybe better ideas. What L.A. can’t settle for is anything less than bold systemic reform.
“Los Angeles is the economic engine and the cultural soul of Southern California. A world-class city deserves a world-class city government. One that’s designed to work.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary leadership. Beneath the broken sidewalks is a broken system. Because I’ve worked with each and every one of you, I know that together, you can begin to repair both!
“So I implore you: Carpe Diem! Seize the day!”
Cole’s comments are about the City of Los Angeles and not at all about the private, LA28 organizing committee which is planning the 2028 Games, but which will inevitably rely on the City for many services such as security, transportation management, sanitation and many, many more.
No matter how good the LA28 organizers are, a successful 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will inevitably require a quality effort from the City of Los Angeles, not to mention agencies in Los Angeles County, the State of California and the U.S. Federal government.
Cole’s insight – and advice – offers a keen insight into what is holding the City back right now, but that he hopes will be fixed soon, regardless of the impending worldwide focus on Los Angeles in 2028.
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