The Eastsider was present at a neighborhood council meeting last night, and they have a tale to tell:

The January meeting of the Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council came to order at about 6:30 Tuesday night. Ten minutes later, there was total disorder, with gavels and drums banging, board members trading insults and threats and others pleading for the police to be called in to calm things down.

Things went down hill fast after some council members objected to a move by president Jose Sigala (who has seen plenty of nasty public meetings as an aid to City Councilman Richard Alarcon) to seat an alternate representative to the council. Augustin Cebada called Sigala a "Mr. Fat, bald-headed, Mussolini" and banged on a hand-held drum. Sigala, pounding his gavel on the table, demanded that Cebada, a former, ally, shut up.

It took the appearance of Eric Garcetti to quiet things down.

Of course, the fact that there even was a meeting is something of an achievement as there have been disputes and accusations over scheduling of meetings, the naming of meetings -- when does Robert's rules allow a "Special Meeting," for example -- and adequate publicizing of them.