This is important. The future of Los Angeles is on the line. Do we have your attention? Good. You need to put your thinking caps on for this one…

Imagine you are Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. You showed a lot of promise back in 2005, but you got caught up in mugging for the cameras and flying around the world like a millionaire and you lost focus.

Then with only a little more than a year left in office, the image of St. Francis of Assisi, a man who dedicated himself to selflessly serving humanity, appeared to you in the sky as you sun-bathed in the backyard of the mayor's mansion. You realized you need to stop thinking about yourself and only do what's best for Los Angeles. But what should you do?

Now let us give you more things to consider. You have turned into the smartest, most dedicated public servant in the history of Los Angeles. You're not thinking about running for office, or hitting the presidential campaign trail in the summer and fall of 2012.

You just want to stay in L.A. and work yourself to the bone, fixing this wonderful city before you leave City Hall in the summer of 2013.

Would you finally hire someone very smart and capable from the private sector and finish planting those one million trees you talked about so long ago?

Would you get the folks who run Walt Disney Concert Hall to finally light that architectural masterpiece correctly at night, so Frank Gehry's gem becomes as magnificent as it should be?

Would you utilize the talent, brains, and wealth of Angelenos to fix whatever needs serious fixing in Los Angeles, rather than just using these folks as ATM machines or occasional advisers? If so, for what?

In essence, what specific things would you do to make Los Angeles the best city in the world?

So let's hear it Angelenos. Give Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa some tips. Help him to be better. Save the snark for one day, but give it to him straight. The future of Los Angeles is on the line.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Follow McDonald on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/PRMcDonald and his Facebook page.

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