How to Fight City Hall
In Home of the Brave, Fina Mendoza’s family is up in arms about the homeless man living in the RV down the hill and blame him for a rash of vandalism and brush fires.
“The city has to step up its game! This is not acceptable,” said Tía Margarita. "We have to do something."
But what?
(all photos of LA City Hall courtesy of Kitty Felde)Joel Bellman is a retired journalist and longtime political aide in Los Angeles.
He says, “the best way to catch the attention of your elected official is first to figure out clearly and succinctly what your issue is, and your ‘ask'. What do you realistically want to accomplish? That will point you to the right level of government.”
Fina’s family takes their issue of malicious mischief to the city council.
If they had a countywide issue, they might contact their county supervisor or district attorney or property tax assessor.
If it was a state issue, they could contact their assemblymember or state senator.
If it was a national problem, they could talk to Fina’s father, a U.S. Congressman. (The rest of us would have to reach out to our local member of Congress or U.S. Senator.)
You can identify the official you need online - either through a google or AI search - to find their website. Or use government tools like the LA County Registrar-Recorder’s “District Look-Up” site.
An official website is the best place to find the best way to contact the right person.
Joel’s hint: “Some websites list the staff members and their specific responsibilities with individual email addresses or phone numbers, others may only have general office numbers or any online form.”
If you need help with a federal issue (Social Security, veteran affairs, FEMA, etc.) find your representative here. Call that congressional office - either in Washington or the district office in your town - and ask for the person who handles Constituent Services.
In Home of the Brave, Fina’s entire neighborhood shows up at city hall to speak at a city council meeting about their concerns.
But Joel Bellman says by the time lamakers meet in public, “the agenda and most likely the voting have already been predetermined, so it’s too late.”
Contact the appropriate person in the appropriate office, introduce yourself as a constituent, and state your issue to the staff.
You are developing a relationship. You get to know them, they get to know you and will be more likely to pay personal attention to your request.