Who’s going to the Paris Olympics? Plenty of L.A. politicians

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Dakota Smith and David Zahniser guiding you into the abyss, with an assist from Libor Jany.

The Summer Olympic Games kick off next week in Paris. Around Los Angeles City Hall, the question is: Who is going?

With L.A. slated to host the Games in 2028, an array of elected officials, political aides and high-level staffers are heading to the City of Light to learn some lessons — but also to take in the spectacle surrounding the 17-day event.

Mayor Karen Bass told reporters on Thursday that she will be part of the official delegation that includes First Lady Jill Biden. Bass will be in Paris from July 25 to July 27 and attend the opening ceremony, then go again from Aug. 7 to Aug. 12 for the closing festivities, according to Gabby Maarse, a mayoral spokesperson.

Maarse said Bass will have an “official role” alongside Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in the closing ceremony, where Bass will receive the Olympic flag to bring home to Los Angeles.

City Council President Paul Krekorian will be in France for the entirety of the Games, arriving July 24 and leaving Aug. 12. City Councilmember Traci Park, who heads the council’s ad hoc committee on the Olympic Games, plans to attend from Aug. 8 to 12, in time for the closing events.

Park, who represents part of the Westside, said she wants to talk to Paris officials about the surprises they encounter and the last-minute adjustments they are making.

“I want to see how the app is working. I want to see how crowd control and security are being handled. I want to see what public transportation looks and feels like, and I wanted to do that in the thick of it,” said Park, who intends to pay for the trip using funds from her office holder committee.

For L.A., the stakes go well beyond tourism and the extensive public safety demands generated by an international event.

City officials are working closely with the private committee organizing and paying for the 2028 Games. If the committee loses money, the city will be on the hook for the first $250 million, according to an agreement struck several years ago.

Krekorian, who leaves office at the end of the year, said he remains confident that the L.A. Olympics will be economically successful. At the same time, he has “nagging concerns” about the city services that will be required during the Games, such as moving ticket holders successfully from Point A to Point B.

In Paris, he plans to attend training on volunteer programs, ticketing issues, bus operations and other technical matters.

“It is the single biggest event in the world. That’s not something you can learn by mail order. You have to touch and feel it and see how it’s done,” said Krekorian, who is planning to pay for the trip from his office’s travel budget.

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who heads the council’s public safety committee, is planning to visit during the first part of the Games.

LAPD interim Chief Dominic Choi is expected to attend at least a portion of the event, along with a 33-person delegation assembled by the department.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is sending its own delegation, which includes Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Wiggins. Also going are Los Angeles County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, both of whom sit on Metro’s board.

Not surprisingly, Metro’s delegation will look at transportation issues facing Paris during the event, said agency spokesperson David Sotero. “This is particularly important,” he said, “as Metro was unable to observe the Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic in 2020.”

Metro will pay for Hahn’s trip and at least a portion of Bass’ travel. The county will pay for Horvath’s travel. However, Horvath is treating event tickets as a “personal expense,” said her spokesperson, Constance Farrell.

LA 28, the private committee organizing the 2028 Olympics, is not paying for the L.A. politicians to go to Paris, LA 28 spokesperson Kim Parker Gordon said.

As a part of the “International Olympic Committee family,” Bass will have a credential that includes access to Olympic sites, said Maarse, her spokesperson.

Bass will be accompanied, at least on her first Paris trip, by several aides, including Maarse, Deputy Mayor Zach Seidl and Erin Bromaghim, deputy mayor of international affairs.

The mayor will head back to Paris a third time for the Paralympic Games, which run from Aug. 28 to Sep. 8. Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley, is also scheduled to attend.

“Having had rickets as a child, which affected her mobility and made her a target for teasing, she is excited to support the Paralympic Games and uplift athletes with physical disabilities,” said Lauren Perez-Rangel, a Padilla spokesperson.

State of play

— LAST-MINUTE VETO: Bass issued the first veto of her administration, nixing a proposal to give the police chief the power to terminate officers found to have engaged in “serious misconduct,” such as dishonest behavior and use of excessive force. The mayor’s team sent the City Clerk her veto message at around 11 p.m. on Monday, the final day for her to act, per the city clerk’s office.

— COUNTING TO TEN: Getting the 10 votes to override the mayor’s veto could be tricky, especially if the vote falls on a day when one or more council members are in Paris. Three of the council’s 15 members are already on record supporting the mayor’s veto. Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who missed last month’s council votes, hasn’t divulged his views to The Times but is a close ally of Bass.

— BUS IT, BABY: Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the new chair of the Metro board, took the bus on Thursday. Then she took multiple train trips — one of them with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who later announced an infusion of federal funding for electric buses. Hahn documented her daylong transit journey here.

— PEOPLE MOVER, PART 1: The Board of Airport Commissioners, a panel made up of mayoral appointees, agreed to put another $400 million into the people mover under construction at Los Angeles International Airport. The $3.34-billion project is slated to be in use in 2026.

— PEOPLE MOVER, PART 2: Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters is on a mission to halt the other people mover, a $2- billion line planned between SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the K Line, the north-south light-rail route that runs across South Los Angeles. Waters, whose district includes Inglewood, called the project “totally unnecessary and totally much too costly,” arguing that the funds should be spent elsewhere.

— PENSION TENSIONS: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, the union representing most DWP workers, has sued the city over its decision to allow retired city employees to work at the utility and ultimately collect two pensions.

— SEROKA SPEAKS: Here’s a tidy Q&A with Gene Seroka, the top executive at the Port of Los Angeles, discussing tariffs, automation and environmental challenges facing the city’s harbor department.

— GUTHRIE GOES: The president and chief executive of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, which has a $2-billion budget and a huge housing portfolio, is retiring at the end of the month. Doug Guthrie, who took the job in 2012, will leave the agency effective Aug. 1.

— EVEN MORE TRANSITIONS: Bill Przylucki, executive director of the nonprofit Ground Game LA, is moving on. He is being replaced by Meghan Choi, who helped lead the successful L.A. City Council campaigns of Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez. Ground Game works to elect progressive candidates, among other things.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s program to combat homelessness teamed up with Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, focusing on the area around Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood. Inside Safe also went to the Westlake neighborhood, working with Hernandez.

• On the docket for next week: The city’s Planning Department will open its first public counter in South L.A. The office at 8475 Vermont Ave. will cater to customers filing project applications and seeking other services.