The Encino Neighborhood Council held their first “Listening Session” this past Monday with guest speaker Mayor Karen Bass. Moderated by ENC President Roy Nwaisser, the intention of the inaugural series is to hear from Encino locals on their community concerns so that the ENC and a different city official each session can assist in rectifying those concerns. Per the rules of the listening session, no election or campaign questions were allowed to be asked, but rather the focus should remain on “city services and municipal priorities.”
Interested parties had one minute to deliver their question to Mayor Bass and after 10 minutes, she would go back through the questions and answer them. Many of the questions participants asked were not centered on Encino, but rather touched on everything from the possible corruption in animal shelters to the graffiti towers in Downtown LA. After 30 minutes, Bass left and the forum was open to ask questions to the council, who again, could not respond but simply take note of the issue and mark it as something to take further action on.
Perhaps the one participant who truly seemed to mirror the frustration that many Encino locals have was a caller identified as “Goat Puppet.” While his first call in question seemed almost satirical as he was continuously interrupted by a goat bleating, his second call in (after putting the actual goat back in its pen), “Goat Puppet” touched on many of the issues plaguing Encino, from homeless on the streets to broken street lights and increasing traffic issues. Expressing frustration that he often has to rectify these problems himself, and the City is failing to act, his call seemed more in line with what these listening sessions should prioritize. Locals expressing concern for local issues and demanding local fixes.
To give credit to the Encino Neighborhood Council, creating the introduction of “Listening Sessions” is exactly what constituents need, but specifics of the Zoom need be ironed out and as they continue to hold these meetings, hopefully they will. While the format of answering questions after 10 minutes was specifically preferred by Mayor Bass, it did not seem the most beneficial for listeners who had to wait for answers and then try to remember the initial inquiry. Out of approximately 40 participants, around 10 asked questions.
But perhaps the biggest elephant in the Zoom was the lack of reference to Encino’s current Councilmember Nithya Raman and Mayor Bass’ competitor in the mayoral race. Again, given the rules that no political questions were allowed to be asked, how do you navigate the landscape of issues without bringing up Raman’s working association with Bass? It was a catch-22 situation of sorts for listeners because how do you express concern in regards to the woman who is supposedly in charge of fixing those Encino issues to the woman who is not allowed to currently talk about her competitor?
This Zoom also directly followed the news that both Bass and Raman had dropped out of a scheduled debate this past week.
Outside of an election period, these “Listening Sessions” have true potential when they won’t be shackled by constraints.
