L.A. 2024 co-Chair Casey Wasserman said the event has the "ability to elevate the city almost unlike anything else," according to Ted Johnson of VARIETY. Wasserman, speaking at the Future of Cities: Leading in L.A. summit Monday, also "defended the push to secure the games even as the region faces pressing problems with homelessness and education." Wasserman said, "A city like L.A. can do a lot of things. Let’s be honest, if we don’t host the games, we have no opportunity to elevate this city. We have no opportunity to show the world what L.A. is. We have no opportunity to unite the city around a singular event. And we still have those other problems.” He added of Mayor Eric Garcetti, "Our mayor likes to talk about how this is the time for L.A. to become one of the three or four great cities in the world, and I think the summer Olympic Games in 2024 has a tremendous opportunity to do that." Wasserman also said that L.A. “'has the opportunity to be the poster child' for reforms" to the IOC bidding process that places "greater weight on sustainability, including the use of existing sports venues" (VARIETY.com, 10/20).
