Mayor’s Bike Summit fails the Engagement Test

(Editor’s note – this article originally circulated in CityWatch, an email newsletter on City Hall. If you want to understand LA politics, you must read CityWatch! Subscribe here!)

Partly in response to his bike collision, the Mayor is holding a Bike Summit. While that might not be your cup of tea, it provides an interesting example of the Mayor’s staff failing to engage the community. Just in scheduling the Bike Summit (BS), the Mayor’s staff bypassed the process, bypassed the leadership, and excluded the working public. Word is that the cheese and crackers will bankrupt the city, the handouts will give you paper cuts, and the staff salaries will double the national debt.

It’s too bad too – the Mayor more than anyone has the capability to charm a crowd and be their champion. Instead, it seems more and more that his citizens get fickle attention from staff in need of some solid mentoring.

Staff made three avoidable blunders in scheduling the BS. First, they bypassed the City process, failing to meet with the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) (which includes four mayoral appointees) about the BS.  Second, they bypassed the community leadership, ignoring community leaders, and leaving them to learn the details of the BS from the press. Finally, they scheduled the BS for Monday morning, from 9 am to 11 am, excluding the working public from participating.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (background, head down)

The BAC is the only official body that addresses cycling exclusively. They meet every 2 months, which is pretty far apart if you’re a mayor who is eager to schedule an event. On the other hand, they happen to be meeting this coming Monday, the 9th. The Mayor’s staff could have easily consulted with the committee on the 9th about their plans for the BS. Instead, staff announced the BS today, missing an opportunity to engage in the City’s process. In doing so, they dinged the BAC’s credibility, reinforcing the common impression that inconvenient process is process best ignored.

While they didn’t meet with the BAC formally, the Mayor’s staff could have consulted with the BAC members individually, and could have contacted prominent organizations and individuals in the cycling community to sound out the idea of a BS. It’s just good sense to engage the leaders of the constituency you’re planning to engage, and make sure they’re on board. Not the Mayor’s staff! Leaders in the cycling community were left to learn about the Mayor’s plans from an article in the LA Weekly. We can’t know why staff bypassed community leadership, but it can’t be accidental – several people reached out to the Mayor.

Worst of all, staff showed a basic disrespect for working people. It’s not easy to keep a job in this city right now, and if you have one, a good way to lose it is to take the morning off. But, if you work 9-5, that’s what you’ll have to do, since the Mayor’s staff scheduled the BS for Monday morning. Neighborhood Council members et al see this often – city staff won’t attend because it’s after working hours. For the cycling community, it’s a reminder that we’re not special, and we get the same second class treatment that other community groups get. A 9 am summit is more a meeting for staff, not a summit for the public.

We need more walk and less talk in this city. We, the cyclists, and we, the citizens. The Mayor has a list of actionable items on his desk that he ought to act on. If he is going to hold a BS, then staff should assure it’s effective, not a waste of two hours of the Mayor’s time and untold tax payer money on staff salaries. Bypassing and insulting community leadership is a waste of time and money. Leaving out the working public is a waste of time and money.

It’s not rocket science to recover from these blunders and an office with as much political talent as the Mayor’s ought to be able to recover with a flourish. Here’s three simple steps:

1) Reschedule the BS for a weekday evening. Cyclists (and interested non-cyclists) who work ought to be able to attend this event.

Pro-tip – tell the public the mayor had to have breakfast at the UN or something and thus needed to reschedule. People will totally buy it and it makes the Mayor look awesome.

2) Engage community leaders. Conferences, summits, and forums are great but they work best in tandem (bike pun!) with smaller meetings with experts and activists where a robust discussion is possible.

Pro-tip – flowers and chocolate are a great way to apologize. Avoid mystery chocolates though.

3) Take part in the process. Send mayoral staff with the ability to respond & act to the BAC. Own the blunders in scheduling the BS, and ask for the committees input on changes to the schedule and agenda.

Pro-tip – complimentary bikes for anyone bringing bolt cutters!