Public Access Democracy Director Leonora Camner

My Tattoo Is a Kleroterion

Leonora Camner is the director of Public Access Democracy and the executive director of Abundant Housing LA, and served on the Santa Monica Housing Commission from 2019 to 2022. Before sitting on a panel for the Zócalo/KCRW event “Do We Even Need a City Council?,” she joined us in our green room to talk about bopping to Eurovision, the N.K. Jemisin trilogy that blew her away, and the ancient and modern cities that inspire her.

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Weingart Foundation CEO Miguel Santana

I Was the Skunk at the Picnic

Miguel Santana was the city administrative officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he designed the city’s first comprehensive homeless strategy. Santana was appointed President & CEO of the …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman

I Miss India’s Street Food

Nithya Raman is an urban planner and member of the Los Angeles City Council representing District 4. She has worked on homelessness for many years, co-founding the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How Do You Solve a Problem Like L.A.’s City Council?

In This Moment of Pain and Division, There’s Opportunity to Demand Real Change for Our Democracy

“Do we even need a city council?” That was the provocative title question posed at last night’s Zócalo/KCRW event at the Herald Examiner Building in downtown Los Angeles.

To get at …

Can Los Angeles Elect a City Council That Reflects Our Values? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Can Los Angeles Elect a City Council That Reflects Our Values?

It's Hard to Legislate Decency—But Changing Demographics and New Technologies Require New Ethics and Rules

Politics is full of high-stakes battles and strategies concocted behind closed doors. But that’s no excuse for the level of venality, toxicity, self-aggrandizement, condescension, hubris, and racism exposed in the …

Los Angeles Doesn’t Need a City Council | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Los Angeles Doesn’t Need a City Council

Resignations Won’t Fix a Broken System. Instead, Let Everyday Citizens Take Charge

Please! Pretty please! With azúcar on top! I beg you—Kevin de León and Gilbert Cedillo—not to resign your seats on the Los Angeles City Council like Nury Martinez did. Instead, …