Choices

The river current is going...time to catch the ride through the rapids.

While some will dismiss yesterday’s vote as inconsequential, it is not. It is presenting a limiting of choices for Altadena. It clarified the notion of Ideas and Plans. It put a marker on the table. It is forcing a choice for people. It is the first act of a long play.

We have been shaping the conversation, that much is true. AB 797 has its own momentum. People now see the tool. People are talking about it. Discussions are being had with banks. Multiple sources confirm these fact. We found a way to finance our rebuild, and did it without the federal government. We solved a problem. But when solving one, we opened another. The questions asked back in the Teddy Kennedy Substack are also clear. The banks want to know “who.” Who can they bank on? Who can handle the money? Who can lead the recovery? The dog caught the bus. The community solved it, but if they want the solution, they have to get real. Horvath’s Motion crystalized the need in my mind.

“Everyone has a role” it is said in politics all the time. Our role was to bring the conversation and guide Altadena to see there is hope, there is opportunity, there is a path for the community. We started back in January thinking through the AB 797 concept. In February we offered Plan to publicly put a marker on the table. In March, we started this Substack to keep the conversation going. It seems so short and so long ago. We called out the leaders, challenging them to get something, anything. We said, here we are 3, 4, 5, 6 months later, and nothing, so give us something. Well, they must be listening. Maybe they do not hear how we want it, but they definitely heard we want something.

So, yesterday, the Horvath Motion passes, giving the County 7 days to get a report on “how.” 7 days is July 8th, 8 days before Sasha’s bill, SB 782 is due for its hearing in the Assembly. 8 days. Is that a lucky number? Horvath’s path is still fraught, but it is moving. Sasha’s bill is one or two steps away from passing. Things are moving. The glacial pace of government is starting to pick up. People are putting their cards on the table. The pieces are starting to align. They found the money. Now they need the organization. Government will default to government. Altadena, is there an alternative?

My prediction is there will be a contest potentially. It is not binary however. SB 782 can be the “localized” control. Horvath’s Motion will be “absorption into the County and the Palisades.” Which will win? Will both? They are not exclusive. The Authority might be a bridge too far, so SB 782 gives a similar approach. If SB 782 were amended to put choice in there, I think it would pass without opposition. The Palisades would likely approve SB 782 (which is probably the City’s preferred approach). Altadena would have a bigger fight, so the Authority would be simpler, but without the control. Another compromise is will there be a carve out for Altadena in the Rebuild Authority where Altadena has its own authority? That approach will allow the County to control but with some governance for Altadena. See? It’s complicated. Welcome to politics.

If Altadena does not want either, what is the alternative? Sort of like with AB 797, if you do not want corporations acquiring land, you have to support something? There is no money from the foundations/private funders (unless you can raise it), so AB 797 is the next best thing. Do we have anything real enough to take in the money, align the community, and help the financial players feel comfortable with the controls and oversight necessary? Is there a nonprofit that can do it? Is there a nonprofit that wants to do it? Can one be created and aligned in the time necessary? It is a tall order for sure. Maybe one of the foundations wants to step out and be the “fiscal intermediary.” Mackenzie Scott, you want to help us get it off the ground? We know how. We just need help seeding the vehicle.

Here is the thing, we as a community have a voice. We have to figure out what that voice is. We need to shape the response and get real. It is not about making noise now per se. It is about the alignment of the "right noise.” Protests can make things messy. They are not what funders want. Sitting at the table and having the right discussions is the other part of it. Politics is working both sides just as they did with us. We need to decide as a community what we want and how we can influence the next steps.

Absent an integrated solution, we are out. Who will lead that? Who can galvanize the community? Who will support it? Who will lose out on the two legislative paths right now? Will one of those paths benefit the community better? It is a sprint now. The timeline is over a holiday. My wife can tell you this is how it always works. Vacations ruined. Stress in the sprint, always in the summer.

There is a void. There is a window. Altadena needs to take the shot. As someone said once, “it is not about qualifying, someone has to win, so why not me?” It is a good question. It was from a former NFL player. They see the world differently than most of us. Getting to the highest levels requires a mindset unlike anything we have.

Altadena qualified. We got in the conversation. We are going up against some real fire power, but we are here for a reason. We can win. We have strengths. The question is where. Where do you want to focus on? Do you align? Do you lean into one or the other option? Do you wait and see? Do you continue with the current path and keep leveraging what you can? Can we use what we have to get a better deal. We need to keep going. We need to align. We “caught the bus,” and now we “need to stay going forward.”

My feeling f*ck it. Keep going. Why not? What can we lose? We are making change. It is how it works. We have our alternative and we keep going on. Those who will peel off will continue to do so and were not true, which maybe they get a short win, but they do not get the respect necessary to keep going.

I think back to when I got into politics at the start in 2016. Life was simpler before, trust me. We won a lawsuit. We could have walked away. When the group we were up against had no other options, after they “flexed,” after they used whatever they could to try and beat us, we got into working legislation.

Similarly, we were given last minute requests to “oppose” legislation like with the Motion here, which may have actually helped those who ultimately were working against us (token opposition to the County Motion so SB 782 could go through). Does not matter. It is the game. You oppose because you oppose, whether we were manipulated or not. Did not matter. It is about keeping options open. The bill we were up against almost got through how they wanted it. We could have walked away. We could have “taken the win” and “lost the war.” It does not work that way. You walk away, you lose. In our case Altadena would lose.

That is where Altadena is. Sure, there is legislation, but opposition will engender support. Look at where we are today. Look at how we are driving the conversation. Look at how they are adopting our ideas. Look at how we are pushing things. Opposition will continue to shape it. Maybe it kills the motion. Maybe it does not. There are other levels on which these conversations happen, things we are not privy to. We need to stay on target and focus. The message is clear. We know what we need to do. The marker is laid down. Does Altadena want it? Does it want to bring the resources together? Does it want to continue to shape the conversation?

In our story back in 2016-2019, the other side in our case got their proposal through the House of Representatives, celebrated the win and thought they would dictate the peace so to speak. It was not to be. They were not as strong as they seemed. They were not as strong as they projected to others. Someone decided things needed to change. Someone was able to do things we could not. They never could have had we left the field. They never could have had we not continued to push. Sometimes you win by losing.

Politics is a long game. You have to keep going. You cannot let them knock you off. You can make choices along the way, but you also need to be ready to go all in or lose. Losing means you affect things and maybe that is the legacy. At least we get to write the story here.