Challenge to Change: Civic Assemblies at the 2026 Congress of Neighborhoods

On September 26, Public Democracy Los Angeles joined Neighborhood Council leaders and residents from across the city at the Los Angeles Congress of Neighborhoods, held at City Hall. This year’s theme, “From Challenge to Change,” fit our work well. Civic assemblies are designed for the hardest public questions: the ones that stall in public comment, split communities, and outlast election cycles.

Hunter Futo, Max Clark, Derek Galey, and Alex Kuntzman led our workshop, “Tackling Tough Neighborhood Council Challenges Through Civic Assemblies,” in the City Council Chambers. After a brief introduction to how civic assemblies work, participants took part in a demo assembly, an accelerated version of the real process. Working in small groups, they learned about a transportation issue, weighed tradeoffs, deliberated, and drafted recommendations together in about an hour. Watching a room of neighbors do that work in the same chamber where the City Council meets was a powerful reminder of what we’re working toward: a city where everyday Angelenos have a real seat in public decision-making. We closed with a raffle for Hélène Landemore’s Politics Without Politicians.

Throughout the day, our booth gave us a chance to talk one-on-one with Neighborhood Council members, City staff, and residents. We handed out civic lottery tickets and asked attendees what issues Los Angeles should take on in a city-wide civic assembly. Thank you to the Congress of Neighborhoods Planning Committee for hosting us, and to everyone who stopped by, took part in the workshop, or shared an idea. If you’d like to stay involved and be invited to future events like this, sign up for our newsletter, Assemble LA.