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LA Observed columnist Bill Boyarsky was a friend of the late Doug Ring and describes his role in preparing Bill to be an effective ethics commissioner in City Hall, and Ring's earlier role in getting commuter rail service in Los Angeles. Here's an excerpt from Bill's piece:
He was always trying something new—living on a kibbutz in Israel, studying to be a rabbi at another point. Eventually, he went to work for Los Angeles County Supervisor Baxter Ward while attending law school. Ward was a rebel who fought constantly with his board colleagues, but he had a vision of a rail commuter network for Los Angeles County....The train didn’t last long. But Doug’s legal work did. It cleared the way for the commuter rail network that now runs over railroad company tracks, serving thousands every day.
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Despite his many civic activities and philanthropies, Dough was a cynic about politics, wanting things to be better but skeptical of change. He was amused when I was appointed to the City Ethics Commission, which enforces campaign contribution controls. He thought that the web of campaign laws created by reformers wouldn’t stop a determined crook. Nevertheless, Doug, who had served on the redevelopment and library commissions, spent considerable time tutoring me on how to be a commissioner...
Here's the rest of Bill's column. The Times obituary on Ring is now up too.