What can I say about the man who — more than any other single individual besides former Mayor Jim Hahn — is responsible for the mish-mosh that today characterizes the neighborhood-council movement in Los Angeles?

Just this: Greg Nelson, the lame-duck general manager of the city's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (known as DONE to just about everybody) "retired" a few weeks ago, effective at the end of April, but everybody knows he was bounced.

There is already an interim general manager in place. And Nelson's prominently placed mantra, "Power is not given; it is taken" has been removed from DONE'S Web site. Any public official who talks about power rather than service is just nuts, in my book.

Yes, Nelson's enthusiasm and bonhomie were the the talk of any place where neighborhood-council folks would gather to chat.

And yes, he was instrumental in getting the idea of neighborhood councils into the Los Angeles City Charter of 1999 in the first place. And yes, he became DONE's second general manager, the one who was only too glad to carry out Jim Hahn's goal of hastily organizing as many neighborhoods as possible as a counterforce to the secession movements in the Valley, in Hollywood and in San Pedro.

Unfortunately, the oh-so-willing Nelson moved waaaayyy too fast. Councils were thrown together like tossed salads. Nelson was fond of stating that "one size does not fit all," but I guess he had never heard about too many cooks spoiling the broth.

The City Charter is very clear that neighborhood councils are supposed to represent their neighborhoods — all kinds of people in their neighborhoods.

But for Nelson it was OK, for example, that the Old Northridge Neighborhood Council was formed in 2002 by a bunch of artists with a board of directors known as a Gilgamesh and a treasurer known as a Bean Counter. Four years later (without admitting any error on his part) he has asked the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners to decertify Old Northridge.

To change the metaphor, it was OK for Nelson that homeowners' associations would combine to carve up their areas like Christmas turkeys — with scant concern for the voiceless majority whom the councils were supposed to represent.

As an example it was OK that in 2002 the Mar Vista Community Council was allowed to jump across the San Diego Freeway and swallow up some 40 percent of Palms's territory — the area known by the name of its principal residential subdivision, Westside Village.

And when apartment dwellers, homeowners, employers and employees in that area of Northwest Palms pointed out the folly of DONE'S faulty decision — well, he just refused to admit that anybody had made a mistake — least of all him.

To be fair, he truly thought that the folks who put themselves forward as directors of the neighborhood councils do represent "power to the people" (for the most part, they don't) — yet he never made any real effort to assure that goal has been — or will be — reached.

Mayor Villaraigosa says he will conduct a nationwide search for a replacement for Greg Nelson. That's good news for representative democracy in the city of Los Angeles.

And, of course, for Palms. We are still waiting to reunite our entire territory. And we're getting tired of the wait.