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PDLA is grateful to team lead Max Clark, whose Substack article, "The Miracle in the Ashes of Los Angeles Last Saturday", formed the basis for this post. Background The Pacific Palisades fire of January 2025 was one of the most destructive in Los Angeles history. In its aftermath, the Palisades Recovery Coalition (PRC) began pursuing the establishment of a Disaster Recovery District (DRD) — a designation that, if approved by the LA City Council, would allow the community to use Tax Increment...

In a historic moment for participatory democracy, the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission voted unanimously to approve a new Charter Preamble generated by its residents. The preamble language was developed directly from recommendations generated by 36 Angelenos at a January mini-assembly organized by Public Democracy Los Angeles. The delegates—randomly selected by public lottery to reflect the demographic diversity of Los Angeles—gathered at the Japanese American National Museum in Little...

On Thursday March 26, 2026, the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission took a groundbreaking step: voting to make civic assemblies a permanent part of the charter reform process. Under Section 493, Commission Administration, Personnel and Budget part C, the approved language states: The Commission shall enact a parallel civic assembly process to be conducted by Commission staff or through a partnership with an advocacy group or organization approved by the Commission. This milestone for...