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MY THOTS - The next Mayoral Race begins June 2026. I don't think and I truly believe that the majority of the people in our city are not having their voice heard--as a matter of fact they have no voice--I call it the Exhausted Majority--which I believe is 65% to 70% of the city. That way too silent voice is seeking certain basic life impacting issues ---
1. People want safety and security for the whole city--our new DA will hopefully work with the various policing authorities in a constructive and collaborative manner--because an uncompromising principle is that All Lives Matter in every part of the City--and that's government's bedrock absolute obligation. The former DA---using a New York word--was an absolute Schmuck--and oblivious to the needs of the majority of the city (parenthetically he was guest on the quiz show "What's my Felony"--where he was eliminated in the first round because he could not answer a simple question----when asked how many misdemeanors does it take to make a felony--his answer was unlimited--buzzer rang--WRONG!!)
2. Getting people off the streets is an absolute priority--a lot quicker than is currently happening--Supervisor Lindsay Horvath--Queen of the Homeless--or as I call her Petunia Pom Pom--is not representing the constituency who elected her---if it wasn't so expensive I would organize a campaign to recall her--but the next election we will all be smarter--she forgot who her constituency is and behaves like a compassionate fool. I would like to point out the absurdity of the Homeless advocates in this city--if you go to a campground--and by example pay for a campsite for 7 days--when time is up--you have to leave. In this city, if you put up a tent you become the owner of that part of the sidewalk--and 10 tents make a community--why have we allowed that to happen--it’s beyond absurd and completely unacceptable--and then we have absolute idiots on the city council (like Nithya Ramen and others) who voted against keeping the homeless at least 500' away from schools (fortunately that became the law)---the homeless are more important than our children?---another example of our elected leaders using their heads as neck ornaments--and totally devoid of common sense.
3. We need to return the quality of life and joy to our city--it’s all about perception--because our residents are discouraged and it’s depressing---it took more than 40 years to make downtown vibrant--and less than 10 years to destroy it--and it’s not coming back soon--unlike NYC which is having a remarkable renaissance.
4. The need to bring business back to our city---which at the moment doesn't even approach a trickle--Democratic Socialists of America have found an interesting way to keep workers from being exploited--no jobs--no exploitation--why didn't I think of that? And ULA devised by a socialist academic at Accidental--oops Occidental University--Peter Dreier by name---who clearly does not and refused to understand the impact of this monumentally imbecilic piece of legislation which has basically reduced all new commercial and residential projects in LA to a trickle--less than a 1/3 of what it was 10 years ago---it did not help that Ms. Ramen (again) misled her constituency about the real meaning of this law--maybe a Harvard education is not what it’s cracked up to be. One other point--without businesses being located here, it’s not possible to pay for the social programs that help those who need it--could it be the reason the City is broke?? Duh!!
5. We waste too much time on gender politics--removing children from the equation--my solution when the question of Sex is on a questionnaire--instead of multiple pronouns--answer--Everything--and as often as possible. Whatever you are I'm all for --make any choice you want--and life goes on.
6. We all need to get a sense of humor--woke and politically correct have become watchwords and made life boring and it’s time to move on. Progressive--only my opinion--is either a tomato sauce or an insurance company. We need to get to the middle--the results of the last election are telling--and we should all learn from that--and to be clear--so whoever decides to insult me about this--I did vote for Kamala--but people want their elected leaders to be leaders--that means breaking eggs and making decisions---you can't please everyone---and while I'm not thrilled about what's coming--there's a lesson we can all learn from it.....so let’s lower the temperature and work together for the common good.
7. We need to make it easier for companies to do business here---in Texas, Florida and Nevada companies moving there are asked how can we help you. Here it's let me show you the regulations--let me count the ways-- and make it as difficult as possible ---and hurdles belong in the Olympics not in a thriving, evolving, growing economy. and finally...
8. When is the Mayor going to stop protecting the incompetent leadership at Metro and replace them with capable and knowledgeable executives--the existing group has been an unequivocal disaster for the city and its residents.
This should be a great city--admired by the world--not the Homeless capital of America--even SF is waking up---so let’s not delude ourselves--it’s far from that today---the loudest voices today are just the loudest--but they don't speak for the majority. If I was the Mayor---heaven forbid--I would create a summit---and put all the different constituencies in a room for as long as it takes--even the socialists (reminds me of one line in Blazing Saddles)--and figure out how the whole city gets on the same page and chart a course forward--it would not be easy--but we all need to talk and communicate and hear each other--and use that dreaded word--"Compromise". (Ideologically pure is dumb and totally unproductive.) Our future depends on that--and that's what effective leaders do.
As to running for Mayor--which many of you have suggested--I think of Bill Buckley's great line when he ran for Mayor of New York--when asked what would be the first thing he would do if elected? ---he looked in the camera and said. "Ask for a Recount". If I was younger----I might----not because I thought I could win--but because I could raise issues everyone is talking about--and that dialogue would be healthy for our city.
(Fredric D. Rosen is a retired Businessman who has served on multiple corporate (both public and private) and charitable boards. He was Ticketmaster's CEO for 16 years and was responsible for making it the leading ticket company in the world.)
