local government... with a twist
COUNCIL WEEKLY is a multimedia online publication about the many facets of neighborhood government structures, primarily focusing on the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council system.
When people talk about “government”, it’s more often than not at the national level. Biden, AOC, Marge, Trumpy, and the mind-bending dysfunction of the reality TV show known as Congress. At state levels, it’s usually the Governor stealing the spotlight, for better or for worse. This is understandable from a media standpoint, since the macro encompasses a larger swath of society, and so by vectoring in on something or somebody both owning an amount of social status and legislative reach affecting a larger percentage of the population, an article corrals a larger readership. This in turn generates greater advertising revenue. And let’s be painfully honest here: King Charles III has nothing on the almighty that is advertising revenue.
This is unfortunate, since at the community council level, government is FAR more interesting. There are still a myriad of personalities and characters. There are still hot-button issues affecting a great many people. There are still moments of heated debate and fierce rivalry… and at times petulant infighting amongst Board members.
The difference is, at its most local level imaginable, this truly is YOUR government. It doesn’t belong to the nation, nor the state, nor even the municipality. It belongs to you. There ought to be a more varied media support and resources designated to get people involved in local government, and a subsequent call to action which keeps them there.
COUNCIL WEEKLY aims to fill such a void… with a twist.
Created by a former Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (NC) Board member, Council Weekly was originally designed to focus solely on the Los Angeles NC system (and for now, still is), of which there are 99 bodies covering the various neighborhoods of the city. By doing so, however, such a narrow focus excludes the 33 Neighborhood Councils of Honolulu, or the 47 ANCs (Advisory Neighborhood Commissions) spanning 8 wards of the District of Columbia, the community systems of Edmonton and Toronto, the over 50 Community Boards of New York City, or the over 9000 Town and Parish Councils within the United Kingdom. These Councils, stretching across two oceans and a continent, hold several things in common: voluntary work, weighing the many facets of any situation to arrive at informed decisions, and dealing with sector of the community who think you’re a %$#@ &%@ for making that decision and aren’t shy of telling anyone with a working ear that you’re a %$#@ &%@.
In short, it’s not easy representing one’s community in such an exposed manner. And there’s the twist: that before-mentioned NC Board member is also a published cartoonist and satirist (as in “satire”, not Satan… please check your prescription). So, a bit of levity is in order by way of opinion pieces and cartoons designed to not only better inform but to also lighten the mood of the reader, many of whom may very well be only hours removed from receiving a healthy dose of outrage over their pro bono community service.
Over the coming months, CW will extend past the Los Angeles system to incorporate Honolulu, D.C. New York, and the U.K. with its brand of multimedia offerings. Even still, what’s happening within the Los Angeles councils is not so dissimilar to councils around the globe where empathy might be lost. After all, we’re all trying the best we can. Sometimes thanklessly.
