Horse Play

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs has always had a knack for providing the one crucial element that draws the media to an otherwise mundane news event: visuals.

When he proposed a way to cut down on time-consuming paperwork in City Hall, he held a press conference in front of stacks of forms that the city requires its workers to fill out to order, well, more forms.

When he called for replacing antiquated heating and air-conditioning systems in City Hall, he took a slew of reporters and photographers to the bowels of City Hall to get a first-hand look at the aging heaters.

In true Wachs form, the councilman held a dedication ceremony Thursday to unveil two new traffic signals to make it easier for horse riders in Lake View Terrace to cross the street.

A button to change the signal has been installed high on the traffic pole so that riders don’t have to dismount to cross the street.

As a visual, Wachs provided himself astride a horse, wearing a cowboy hat, sans his usual coat and tie.

Wachs, a Harvard-educated lawyer who represents several equestrian communities in the east San Fernando Valley, acknowledged later, however, that he is not much of a rider but said he knows enough about riding to get through the press conference.

“I’ve worked hard to preserve the equestrian way of life but I’m not an equestrian myself,” he said.