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 [ LOS ANGELES ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=312)

#  The “Everybody Gets a Say” City Council Plan

Written by Richard Lee Abrams.

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March 19 2026

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THE VIEW FROM HERE - A huge blunder was made in naming proposed reformed city council the 3/15/45 Plan. That name ignored the essence of the Reform – to increase the voices and power of the residents in how the city is run. The proper name is Everybody Gets a Say Plan which turns LA into a democracy rather than a feudal system with 15 fiefdoms controlled by Wall Street. The Everybody Gets a Say Plan breaks the power of Wall Street developers which heretofore made all our important decisions. If we were a democracy, we would have proper funding of the Fire Department, adequate parks for all Angelenos, decent streets and sidewalks, sufficient low cost housing for the poor. But for Wall Street control, LA would not have destroy tens of thousands of RSO units throwing the poor on the streets. Only Wall Street benefitted from causing the homeless crisis. The Everybody Gets a Say Plan kills the fiefdom nature of council districts so that more residents will have various advocates on city council.

Where’s Why LA Will Turn Towards a Democracy

Because each district will have three (3) separate councilpersons who are elected in the same election and each one has a vote at city council, all residents will much more likely find a councilperson who will listen to them. Every resident will have a much greater chance at having a say in government.

What We Have Forgotten as Citizens in a Democracy

For now, we will skip over the fact that the country is democratic Republic and focus on the democracy part which carters to grassroots level. The pure form of democracy is a New England town hall were all residents vote directly on each measure. That is not feasible in a giant city. Thus, from the beginning we knew our democratic aspect would be a representative democracy. We overlooked the fact that when one person has the sole vote for his district at city council, the district becomes a fiefdom where only by bribery and supplications can individual citizens have a voice. Since the corporations with the most money finance the elections, they call all the shots and residents have no real voice.

When there are three equal councilpersons per district and their re-election does not rest on pleasing Wall Street but on serving those residents with different ideas, two of three councilpersons will realize that to remain on the council, they need to ignore Wall Street and instead pay attention to the smaller faction of the voters who supported them.

A Democracy Requires Many Voices to Have Access to Power

Presently, LA is fifteen fiefdoms where each councilperson has total say and can easily ignore any one who displeases his financial backers. Yes, the form of government determines who has the power. When one person represents on district, he has total power and his whims prevail. That is the main reason Palisades was wiped out in the fire – since the 1960's Bel Air fire, there was no councilmember devoted to the care and feeding the fire department. Money which should have gone to the LAFD and other infrastructure was money went to developers. That is why LA has about 3 major water main breaks per week. What why the DWP is a hot bed of corruption. That’s LA No Kill Shelters seem to specialize in animal cruelty and whistle blower make no progress. That’s why our sidewalks are atrocious and they are not repaired even after the courts order that they be properly maintained. That’s also why Los Angeles has coyotes down on Hollywood Boulevard; there is no voice to provide a coyote habitat where they remain farther back in the park with adequate food and water. The number of concerns which Angelenos could bring to public attention is beyond my imagination, but under the present fiefdom system Wall Street and its developers are the gate keepers what that the City Council hears.

To date the Charter Reform Commission has failed to provide the 3/15/45 Plan an adequate analysis. Now that the name has changed to Everybody Gets A Say City Council, people may focus on its essential nature – to provide more Angelenos a say and to stop Wall Street and its developers making all the decisions for us.

The following links provide more analysis of the mechanics of the Everybody Gets a Say Plan, but please remember it is the only democracy oriented plan where people and not corruptions have a major say in city government.

1\) [The Corruption Eradicator](https://tinyurl.com/eez3a8b8)

2\) [Kill LA Corruption](http://bit.ly/2Ghed5Z)

When the three top voter getters all become city councilpersons, almost 100% of the voters will have someone on the council who will speak for them. That’s why Everybody Gets a Say.

*(**Richard Lee Abrams** is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [RickLeeAbrams@Gmail.com)](mailto:RickLeeAbrams@Gmail.com)*

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