Mitch O’Farrell accepts last night’s Community Partner award.
by Stephen Sachs
Last night, I attended an event celebrating Playwrights Arena and honoring Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. Mitch was presented with Playwright Arena’s Community Partner Award. I was asked to write the tribute to Mitch for the program:
We are blessed. We are blessed to live in this beautiful city that bursts with the light of creative energy. Blessed to live in this time when so much change and advancement and development is burgeoning around us. And for those of us fortunate to live and/or work in City District 13, we are blessed to have Mitch O’Farrell as our Councilmember.
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell
Mitch is a tireless advocate for the arts in Los Angeles. When the LA theatre community was embroiled in a union battle threatening its survival, Mitch O’Farrell took a public stand on our behalf and spoke out on the importance of LA’s vibrant intimate theatre scene. When The Blank Theatre’s Daniel Henning lobbied fervently to have a stretch of Santa Monica Blvd designated as Hollywood Theatre Row, Mitch O’Farrell lead the initiative into City Hall and made the motion before the LA City Council. He made sure it happened. And stood beside us celebrating on the day that official permanent designation sign was proudly unveiled. These and many other acts of service, acts of kindness, he gives to us and the community continuously.
Mitch is our champion, our angel for the arts. And he is our friend. In this era of political distrust and nay-saying, Mitch’s first response to those seeking assistance is always “What can I do to help?”
In the LA Times, when wrestling over a recent decision, Mitch quoted the words of Hillel, a famous Jewish religious leader and one of the most important figures in Jewish history. “In approaching this topic, “ Mitch stated, “I asked myself, if not me who? And if not now, when?” This from a nice Irish boy from Oklahoma.
To me, there is no higher calling than tikkun olam. In modern Jewish circles, tikkun olam has come to mean social action and the pursuit of social justice for the benefit of others. Tikkun olam means “to repair the world”. Not by what you believe. By what you do. Through your actions, you make the world a better place. This Mitch has done, and continues to do, every day. A blessing.
