L.A.'s next mayor faces high expectations, little room for error

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Set us as preferred Homeless encampments line the streets.Buying a home — or even finding an affordable place to rent — is increasingly out of reach.

Roads are riddled with potholes, tens of thousands of streetlights are out, and water and power bills are surging.For many Angelenos, morale is poor and quality of life in the city is slipping.This is the challenge for whoever becomes Los Angeles mayor — and it is one that has left some longtime political experts wondering how much one person can control in this vast city of 3.8 million.“The expectations, given the powers that the mayor actually has, are probably too high,” said Tom Hogen-Esch, a professor of political science at Cal State Northridge.“You have all of these wicked problems that are difficult to solve in a perfect scenario, and [even more] in a governmental system as tangled and confused as L.A.”The next mayor will have to deal with enduring problems of deteriorating infrastructure, police reform and budget woes.

But there is also the unprecedented task of rebuilding Pacific Palisades after catastrophic firestorms and trying to help the city’s ailing film industry — all while preparing the city for the global spotlight of hosting the 2028 Olympics.A recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of likely L.A.voters, co-sponsored by The Times.

found that the top priority for the next mayor to address was reducing the number of homeless encampments, followed by ensuring public safety and building more affordable housing.Protecting immigrant communities was the next most cited concern, followed by balancing the city budget.After studying L.A.

politics for more than three decades, Hogen-Esch said the city feels stuck.“We’re talking about the same issues over and over and over ...and a general underlying frustration with city gover...