Excerpt of Nick Patsaouras’ The Making of Modern Los Angeles

PROLOGUE

I wrote this book because I have useful insights and observations to present that I hope will benefit the city I love.

The book chronicles the fifty-year political and civic odyssey of modern Los Angeles from the viewpoints of major political, cultural, academic, and business leaders as well as my own. I personally gathered valuable information regarding the making of modern Los Angeles that I want to share with present and future leaders.

As I wrote the book, I knew how blessed I have been throughout my life. I came to Los Angeles at age seventeen, a penniless immigrant dedicated to schooling and who then achieved a successful career in electrical engineering. The American dream never entered my mind. The American promise had occupied that space, the notion that hard work and worthy pursuits yielded fitting results. In turn, I promised America repayment through robust public service.

Public service was inculcated in my mind since my high school days when we were taught philosophy and political theory. We were taught that in ancient Greece a person who did not get involved in civic affairs was defined as private (idiotis). The Greek historian Thucydides wrote, “We are the only ones who, whoever does not participate in political ‘commons,’ we do not consider to be idle, peaceful, but useless citizens.” With the passage of time, the word idiot came to be synonymous with the word dumb.

“It can be argued,” historian Kevin Starr wrote in 2003, “that few cities in the history of the human race have embarked upon a comparably ambitious program of public and private works. The building of the Acropolis in Athens, the redesign and reconstruction of Rome, the rebuilding of London after the fire of 1666, the high-rises and subways system of Manhattan as they emerged in the first three decades of the twentieth century—all these projects are in the league in which Los Angeles now finds itself.” I was blessed to be involved directly or indirectly in this “ambitious program.”

By plunging into the enigmatic political, civic, and cultural life of my adopted metropolitan area, I directly influenced a number of events, such as helping secure funding for the Los Angeles Metro Rail, thus catapulting the city into a mega-class world prominence.

For half a century I was fortunate to befriend mayors, governors, presidential candidates, and presidents, and I helped deliver benefits to the public as a member of the transportation and water and power agencies. En route, I gathered captivating and intriguing details of crucial decisions often made for the benefit of private interests and not for public service.

Fifteen years ago, I decided to write a book on my experiences. I interviewed more than two hundred key individuals from the political, business, academic, and cultural fields who shaped the city, and with whom I had genuine relationships. The conversations were candid, informative, and insightful.

I witnessed and participated in the development of Los Angeles as a world-class city. The picture-perfect city skyline did not mushroom without flawed backroom deals, and I describe some of them.

 In this book I cover political intrigue, the Northridge earthquake, the renaissance of the rail system led by Mayors Tom Bradley, Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, each with his own plan.

         I describe in detail how the courageous stands of certain individuals preserved the city’s heritage, the battles waged by the Los Angeles Conservancy, the creativity of architect Brenda Levin, the persistence and perseverance of preservationist John Welborne, the ingenuity of developer and civic leader Nelson Rising, and the leadership of ARCO chairman Lodwrick Cook.

I chronicle the vision and the efforts of Lewis McAdams, my friend and founder of Friends of Los Angeles River, and of Melanie Winter and Dan Rosenfeld to revitalize the Los Angeles River.

Insights from cultural leaders on the arts in Los Angeles are detailed.

The smog saga and related conspiracy of the auto industry is explained.

I point out how shortsightedness and political selfishness squandered an opportunity to create a public space in Los Angeles like Trafalgar Square in London, Red Square in Moscow, Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Union Square in San Francisco, or the Pnyx in ancient Athens.

I describe the controversies and the personal blame-game that took place in the initial planning and designing of a dazzling landmark, the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I explain how I watched homelessness become an existential crisis because our city and county leaders ignored it over the last thirty years and are now spending billions of dollars with very little tangible results, and I describe how we evolved into “The Homeless Industrial Complex.”

I delve into the legendary Gloria Molina’s battles as the first Latina to rise to the pinnacles of local politics, her crusade to build the Los Angeles County+University of Southern California Medical Center, her leadership to scuttle Governor George Deukmejian’s efforts to build a prison in slighted East Los Angeles, how she tried unsuccessfully amid political infighting and corruption to prevent the demise of the Eastside subway, her vision and implementation in establishing La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and her determination to make the Gloria Molina Grand Park a reality.

I cover from my own personal experience a serious public betrayal that was staged by a governmental agency and a media conglomerate.

In addition, little known facts are explained, such as the controversy over the Olympic flame. My personal participation helped diffuse the dispute between the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Committee and the citizens of Olympia, Greece.

Also depicted is my fifty-year support of minorities and women’s rights in private and public arenas and in government. And how I vigorously worked to expand greenspace and promote the arts, and led the efforts early on for cleaner energy in Los Angeles. I also define how my demand for accountability to taxpayers during my presidency of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power board and through my authoring of “Ratepayer Advocate” yielded positive results.

I wrote this book to inspire, inform, and challenge the reader to get involved in public service. I sincerely hope I will succeed.