Wondering why the National League of Cities is feeling so much love this Valentines Day? Learn more at nlc.org!
To My City,
If you put the entire world in one city, you get Los Angeles. LA. The City of Angels. LaLa Land. Whatever you or anyone else may call it, it is home. It’s not like the movies. Or the TV shows. We’re more than just palm trees, movie stars, and perfect weather. No one song can describe its thousands of corners and cultures. No brief glance can discern any broad-based conclusions. Many have tried to define us and have failed. My home, San Pedro, is just one small corner of the patchwork that makes up the greater whole.
It is this patchwork that I love. Individual colors and flavors that flow together to create a fusion of people, place, and heart. It is a place where the son of Italian immigrants who worked in the sea and along the docks, can become a City Councilmember; where a taco truck is followed around like a celebrity; where mosaic concrete towers rise into the sky.
It doesn’t matter which part of the patchwork you are from — our love for our city is felt in the moments we collectively experience. The glance in a rear view mirror of the snaking ribbons of white and red lights at sunset. The feeling of a swell under you before a wave. The smell of the place you once called home wafting out of a mom and pop diner. These are a spark in the soul and this Valentine’s Day my hope is that one day, you too will feel that spark for the City that I love.
Con amore,
Joe Buscaino
About the author: Councilmember Joe Buscaino represents the fifteenth district of Los Angeles and serves as the first vice president of the National League of Cities (NLC). With a lifelong career in public service, Buscaino brings a broad range of expertise to NLC’s leadership including the critical issues of public safety and crime prevention, economic development, infrastructure, technology and innovation, and youth civic engagement. He has served in several roles at NLC, including chairing the Legislative Action Committee, and serving as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee, Membership Committee, Finance Committee and Board of Directors.