Illustration by Tomasz Walenta for TIME
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"We have a reputation for being a liberal town, but we're a libertarian town. Now the freeways are too crowded, and 50% of the kids aren't going to school in their own neighborhoods. We need to build schools and parks," Eric told me. I had no idea he was so boring.
It's hard to care about community issues because L.A. is a place you go to make your own dreams yourself. People don't gather in coffee shops to talk about occupying city hall; people sit alone at coffee shops talking to themselves as they read from a script. We have the soul of the West, of the young: we believe in the individual. Not caring about politics is a sign that our politics is going pretty well. The city where I would be very, very interested in my local politics is Pyongyang.
So if people don't want to show up to vote for two very similar candidates (Eric's opponent, Wendy Greuel, whose wedding reception I did not attend, is also a Democrat), I understand. But that means we're never going to be a community. And at some point, everyone needs a community. You'd think a city of people who get rejected constantly would understand that. Though it might explain why, in addition to the mayoral election, there are three separate ballot measures on medical marijuana.