What If Everyday People Ran Los Angeles?

The Solution to America’s Representation Crisis Should Start in the County with the Nation’s Biggest Democratic Deficit

If the crisis in American democracy had a capital, it would be Los Angeles.

And if American democracy is going to be saved, that rescue needs to start in Southern California.

This may come as news to Americans who, when they worry about the nation’s democratic future, obsess about developments in Washington, pronouncements from Mar-a-Lago, or election-related legislation in purple states. But the truth is that it is L.A.—America’s most populous county—that best demonstrates the most fundamental failure of our democracy.

Democracy in this country starts with elected representation, and we Angelenos have …

by Joe Mathews | February 15, 2022

My Plan for Building the Perfect California City

Welcome to 'Joeville,' Where the First Rule Is Not to Play by the Rules

By Joe Mathews | June 11, 2018

Recently a startup founder in San Jose asked me a question: What would you do if you were starting a California city?

My first answer: Get my head examined.

For 40 …

The Delicious Transparency of the Hamburgers

If California Really Wants Open Government, a Northern German City Has a Model That Works

By Joe Mathews | October 16, 2017

California could use a concert hall like Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.

The signature structure of 21st century Germany sits atop an old pier above a dramatic bend in the Elbe River. Its …

California’s New Education Architecture Is Already Failing

The New System Is So Incoherent That We May Not Know If It's Helping Poor Students

By Joe Mathews | October 6, 2016

Is California abandoning its poorest students?

That question would be dismissed as absurd by our state’s education leaders, especially Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education. For years, they …

Why California Keeps Failing to Grade Its Schools

The State Is Inexcusably Late in Delivering a Revamped Public School Index

By Joe Mathews | May 19, 2016

It’s a California educational reality worthy of Kafka. Our state’s leaders keep asking parents and communities to take bigger roles in making local schools better—even as those same leaders keep …

Is Fresno California’s Taco Capital?

In Search of a Galvanizing Narrative, a Growing City Looks to Its Taquerías

By Joe Mathews | March 10, 2016

Can tacos save Fresno?

Greater Fresno, with 1.1 million people and growing, is in the process of becoming California’s next big metropolitan area (it’s already fifth—after L.A., the Bay Area, San …

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