Just when you think you know everyone who attends Transition
Mar Vista/Venice’s Transition Tuesday Potluck, someone new shows up.
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| Matt & Annette |
Last January Matt and newcomer Annette hosted the monthly dinner
and attracted a crowd of farmers market acquaintances, and
Edson, who was new in town and looking for community, and Sharmagne, who
finally had a free night to join us but had no idea walking in that Annette
would become her business partner. In April, Paul traveled from the South Bay
to join the potluck and found kindred DIY spirits in the group. And folks like
David, Ingrid, and Mel, who were already immersed in progressive west-side
groups and sustainability projects, came to their first potlucks long after
getting to know Transition members through other channels.
In May, new members Cameron and Juliet provided the potluck
venue. Nice surprises included Mercedes, who hasn’t had time to come in recent
months, and Wendy’s young guest from Kansas City, Sasha. More unexpected was
the appearance of a Los Angeles candidate for City Controller, Councilman
Dennis Zine of the 3rd District. What an “ah-ha” moment when Cameron told us
we’d be visited by a politician. Of course! It’s election season. They should be visiting us and finding out
how we’re improving the health of our communities.
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Julie Mann, Councilman Dennis Zine, Sharmagne Leland-St.John,
Juliet Archer, Wendy Temple. |
A native Angeleno and former police officer, Councilman Zine
has served the communities of Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Winnetka, and Woodland
Hills since 2001. Now he’s in a runoff race with Ron Galperin to audit and
supervise accounts for a city of some four million people. The registered
independent supports Garcetti for mayor and claims endorsements from Bill
Rosendahl, Tom LaBonge, numerous trade unions, and Congresswoman Karen Bass.
The first item on his agenda as City Controller—as one supposes it must be—is
curbing waste of taxpayers’ money.
Serendipitously enough, Councilman Zine’s special assistant,
Glyn Milburn, spotted the Transition Tuesday event listed on a local Patch
calendar (who knew?). He suggested the Councilman join us because he would already
be in our part of town for another event. We set no agenda prior to their
arrival and, like any new guests at a Transition potluck, Councilman Zine and
Mr. Milburn walked in and were welcomed with food and wine.
Councilman Zine came to Transition Tuesday prepared to
express his environmental concerns; but it was up to us to acquaint him with
the Transition Movement per se and the resiliency of communities like ours that
are working toward sustainable solutions. We wondered if a prospective
controller might be skeptical of non-cash and sharing economies, and the
Councilman concedes that “localizing our economy is inspiring.” He inclines
toward the frugal, agrees that waste of resources is rampant. Most notably,
he’s not a climate-change denier and seems to be just as concerned as we are
that the consequences of global warming are tied directly to every little
action we engage in.
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Dan Wang, Glyn Milburn, Sharmagne Leland-St. John,
Councilman Dennis Zine. |
Councilman Zine admires Transition’s “passion and commitment
to reconnecting our communities,” and I’m personally convinced he’s serious
about supporting efforts to curb waste. But how does this play out in terms of
the dollars and cents a city controller will oversee? Sharmagne voiced her
frustration at having to pay for city sanitation removal when she barely throws
anything away each week. Why can’t we pay only for what we dispose of, she
wondered, the rest of us (including the Councilman) nodding vigorously? Whether
or not solving that conundrum is the purview of the City Controller, we
sincerely hope that anyone elected to public office on Tuesday will see the
cost-saving wisdom of eliminating redundant, wasteful expenditures and advocate
to get city services out of their silos and well integrated.
A year ago I walked into Anneke’s house for a Transition
Tuesday potluck after participating in two or three Transition projects, and I was
delighted by the overlap among people connected to the Learning Garden, Our
Time Bank, and other sympathetic groups like the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra
Club and various bike coalitions. I’ve watched and joined in as all of us come
together to flesh out a larger movement toward local resilience. If the
Department of Water and Power and Bureau of Street Services (for example) were required to communicate, maybe our city
would have a better shot at collaborative solutions to the same problems people
face in Echo Park as they do in Pico Union or Palms.
—Carolyn Gray Anderson
Don’t forget to vote on May 21! A good resource for
reviewing all the Los Angeles candidates and measures is the League of Women Voters’
smartvoter.org.
Fun Fact: Glyn Milburn is a former NFL player, having played for the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos!
