Zev Yaroslavsky, served 20 years on the LA City Council and 20 years on the LA County Board of Supervisors, a distinguished career unmatched in recent memory. Now a faculty member at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Yaroslavsky recently saw his daughter-in-law elected to a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. Yaroslavsky reflects on his institutional memory of Los Angeles, comments on the city’s evolution, its history of homelessness, and changes to government. He shares his thoughts on the corruption currently occurring at City Hall and the rarified atmosphere of the Board of Supervisors. While he appreciates the academic life he leads, we get the sense that there is a certain something that he misses about being in the arena.