I’m sorry, but I just have to laugh at all the contentious rhetoric I read (primarily on Facebook) about the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils in San Pedro.

There are currently 97 Neighborhood Councils within the city limits, each with a $42K annual budget and a corresponding Department of Neighborhood Empowerment within City Hall. "Department of Neighborhood Empowerment," now that’s funny... if it weren't so sad.  Let’s see, 97 X $42,000.  That’s over 4 million a year; what a waste.

In 1999, voters approved a new City Charter that established the Neighborhood Council System and the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment “to promote more citizen participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs."  Specifically, the charter was designed to ensures that each neighborhood council receives early warning of upcoming city decisions and has the opportunity to be heard. That’s it folks, that’s all it was designed to do.  It’s at best an early warning system that does nothing to allow real citizen feedback to city government. How are those bike lanes working out? We really got a heads-up on that one.

We have three neighborhood councils in San Pedro alone.  To watch these various groups, battle against their own members, turning former neighbors into lifelong political foes is laughable. The latest row concerning the Pledge of Allegiance at the Central Neighborhood Council really gets me going. LOL. Really people, the biggest item on the agenda is whether the Pledge should be read.

Come on people, get a life!  You have NO power to change anything.  All you would be politicians that have been duped by our local city government into thinking you have some say-so in the lives of the people of Los Angeles must be smoking medical marijuana (or is it recreational marijuana).

Read my lips, YOU HAVE NO POWER! You are doing nothing but creating friction and divisiveness between San Pedrans.

Get it together people…  Our fight shouldn’t be against one another, but against City Hall where the power actually resides. Go out and take up a worthy cause to spend your time on.  There are many opportunities out there.  Serving on a neighborhood council is not one of them.