Government can’t fix LA alone, and it shouldn’t have to.
asserted
it → fix → LA
That’s why I’m proposing private-public partnerships in city services as the key to LA’s comeback.
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I → ’ → comeback
On Sept. 15, we broke ground on the Palisades Recreation Center.
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we → break → Center
Construction is officially underway after nearly a year-and-a-half of tireless work from our many partners, bringing us one step closer to restoring one of the neighborhood’s most cherished gathering places.
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Construction → bring → places
My kids grew up here, and we spent countless summer evenings watching baseball games on these fields.
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we → grow → fields
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Report → start → news
Anyone who lives in the Palisades knows what this place means.
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place → live → what
It’s one of the centers of our neighborhood, where families come together, children play and lasting friendships begin.
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friendships → ’ → neighborhood
We all knew that bringing it back would help bring the community back together.
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bringing → know → community
We made that happen by refusing to wait for the normal process to run its course.
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process → make → course
In April 2025, Steadfast LA, LA Strong Sports, the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Recreation and Parks formed a public-private partnership to fund, redesign and rebuild the space.
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LA → form → space
From that point on, the city, community groups, designers, builders and private-sector leaders have worked at the same table.
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city → work → table
Decisions and approvals moved faster, and the community had a real role in shaping the future of this place.
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community → move → place
That’s what can happen when government, business and residents have clear responsibilities, a shared deadline and no patience for unnecessary delay.
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government → ’ → delay
The public-private partnership model makes use of private sector leadership, working alongside city departments.
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model → make → departments
It puts decision-makers at one table, cuts unnecessary reviews, gets departments talking to each other and keeps the community involved, allowing us to move with urgency while preserving safety and public oversight.
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us → put → safety
It can be used on a case-by-case basis. Where it works best, it brings private-sector standards of accountability to the public sector.
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it → use → sector
Over the past year and a half, I have watched the city clear obstacles, bring agencies together and put shovels in the ground while giving the community a real voice.
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city → watch → voice
The hard truth is that the rest of LA is not working this way, and residents feel it every day.
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residents → work → it
Across the city, problems that were once frustrating have become destabilizing.
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that → become → city
LA is the worst place in America to buy a home, but instead of making it easier to build, the city can make a homeowner adding one room wait months for an approval that should take weeks.
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that → buy → weeks
Emergency response times are rising.
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times → rise → ?
Billions have been spent on homelessness, but thousands still sleep on sidewalks because the agencies running these programs face no deadlines and no consequences for failure.
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agencies → spend → failure
Our broken insurance market has left many families with thin coverage, and some with none at all.
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market → leave → none
These failures are a clear sign that LA’s government is losing its ability to perform its most basic responsibilities.
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government → lose → responsibilities
When Angelenos can’t afford a home or other necessities, rely on emergency services, or trust that public money will produce results, how long will it take for them to move elsewhere?
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them → afford → results
Residents and businesses still care about their neighborhoods, but the problem is a political system that answers to special interests and career operators whose lives revolve around politics rather than the daily demands of raising a family or running a business.
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lives → care → business
Too many of our city’s politicians have abandoned the individuals and families who simply want safer streets, functioning services and a better quality of life.
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who → abandon → life
Things need to change, and we’ve seen that they can.
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they → need → ?
We saw it at work with the Pali Rec Center, but the same approach can work anywhere from Boyle Heights to Studio City.
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approach → see → City
Together, we can make this standard across the city: one accountable team, clear timelines, agencies reviewing plans at the same time, permits measured in weeks and residents shaping projects from the beginning.
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we → make → beginning
LA has some of the best builders, architects, engineers, technology and capital in the world.
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LA → have → world
We have community groups that know their blocks better than any outside consultant.
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that → have → consultant
We have businesses that want to invest in the neighborhoods where their employees and customers live, because they understand that healthy communities support families, workers and local economies.
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communities → have → families
For too long, many of them have been waiting for the city to give them a meaningful chance to help.
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city → wait → chance
And we don’t have the luxury of continuing to waste those advantages.
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we → have → advantages
Start with the services Angelenos count on every day.
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Angelenos → start → services
While response times climb, private security patrols can add eyes on commercial corridors.
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patrols → climb → corridors
During fire season, water trucks and trained crews can back up firefighters, and donors can pay for equipment and programs the budget doesn’t cover.
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budget → train → equipment
These partners have people and equipment ready now, and they can put them to work in days instead of waiting for the next budget cycle.
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they → have → cycle
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
