NICK'S VIEW - I have long sought inspirational, honest, principled politicians who keep their word, honor their commitments, and accept accountability. I am always ready to support leaders whose decisions are rooted in integrity.
With fondness, I think of the famous Greek philosopher Diogenes, who carried a lantern through Athens in broad daylight in search of an honest man. He became known for ridiculing hollow authority and exposing the divide between leaders’ claims and their actions.
Public issues have never felt distant to me, especially in Los Angeles. Our shared hopes, failures, and possibilities are found here. For as long as I can remember, I have viewed engagement in public affairs as a core expression of citizenship. Consequently, I follow the activities of local government and examine how and why decisions are made—or not made. And I share my views openly in the hope that civic dialogue takes place and together we can help shape the community we live in.
I offer these thoughts not from regret, but from conviction. Los Angeles faces serious challenges, and our response must be focused, thoughtful, and united. At a time when public trust is fragile, our judgment must become an act of civic responsibility—an affirmation that the health of our political life depends on the choices we make together.
We will soon have elections and will be required to make political choices, a point that requires deliberate political judgment. To choose wisely is to recognize that governance is not an abstraction but a collective endeavor, shaped by the integrity of those we entrust with power and by the seriousness with which we select them.
To understand how a mayoral candidate is likely to govern, voters should look closely at the candidate’s kitchen cabinet and advisers. This inner circle offers the clearest view of the candidates` judgment, whose counsel they trust, what instincts they rely on, and how much discipline they would bring to the city’s most difficult problems. By studying those advisers, voters can see the outlines of a candidate’s leadership and vision before the first official decision is made.
Los Angeles is entering a difficult period, and we must help shape its response. We should vote with clarity and purpose because the city faces urgent, overlapping challenges—homelessness, affordability, public safety, housing pressures, wildfire recovery, economic strain, workforce shortages, and aging infrastructure—that demand focused, capable leadership. Meeting them will require more than familiar rhetoric or recycled promises; it will take discipline, competence, and the resolve to confront complexity directly.
The leaders we choose must have both the will and the ability to confront these challenges directly. Will without competence leads to stagnation; competence without resolve leads to drift. We cannot accept “same old, same old” leadership—familiar rhetoric followed by familiar failures.
The general municipal elections of November 3 represent one of the most consequential leadership turnovers in Los Angeles in recent years, with the mayoralty, city attorney and portion of the city council on the ballot.
Improved governance is needed before conditions worsen. After two years of gradual decline, regional homelessness rose again in 2026—by 1.2% in Los Angeles County and 3.4% in the city of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles’s fiscal instability is severely affecting core services. When the budget is structurally strained, departments cannot plan reliably, directly undermining police and fire staffing, street and sidewalk repairs, sanitation, waste management, streetlighting, and emergency response capacity. Then there are additional deficits and decreased subsidies which are also squeezing the city budget, such as escalating legal liability payouts, and reductions in federal and state funding.
Effective governance is essential to preserving the region’s economic vitality and maintaining a stable municipal revenue base. When basic city services decline while taxes remain high, middle-income families and commercial employers are more likely to relocate to nearby regions or leave the state.
Restoring public trust after recent governance failures must also be a priority. High-profile corruption scandals, zoning kickback investigations, and redistricting leaks have seriously eroded confidence in City Hall.
As Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, City Hall will face intense pressure to deliver public safety, infrastructure and transit upgrades, including Metro`s transportation plan that, unfortunately, lacks planning and adequate funding to date. The central question is whether those improvements and execution can be completed without sharply increasing taxpayer liabilities.
Los Angeles’s immense challenges require leaders with competence and courage to confront them directly. Such leadership will not emerge by chance; it must be chosen deliberately by citizens who take their responsibility seriously, who reject complacency, and vote for proven capability rather than familiar slogans. The city’s future will be shaped not only by those who govern, but also by those who choose them.
Los Angeles must emerge from this period stronger, more resilient, and more honest about the work ahead. The city’s trajectory is not predetermined. It will be shaped by the clarity of our expectations and the seriousness with which we choose those entrusted to lead.
Diogenes searched for an honest man. Los Angeles today is searching for capable ones — and for citizens with the seriousness to choose them.
Diogenes delivered one of the most famous lines in ancient philosophy. When Alexander the Great approached him and offered to grant him any favor, Diogenes, resting in the sun, bluntly replied: “Stand out of my sunlight.” He showed what he thought of power and imperial grandeur.
(Nick Patsaouras is an electrical engineer, civic leader, and a longtime public advocate. He ran for Mayor in 1993 with a focus on rebuilding L.A. through transportation after the 1992 civil unrest. He has served on major public boards, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Metro, and the Board of Zoning Appeals, helping guide infrastructure and planning policy in Los Angeles. He is the author of the book "The Making of Modern Los Angeles.")
