I’ve Heard That Name Before

Call up a Los Angeles City Council or Board of Supervisors office these days and you are likely to speak to someone called Adina, Adeena or Adena. It doesn’t matter if you are calling the office of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (3rd District) or the council offices of Cindy Miscikowski (11th District) or Jack Weiss (5th District). All have deputies on hand with the same name who are equipped to help citizens deal with their civic woes.

"My whole life, I had grown up thinking that Adina was such an uncommon name," said Adeena Bleich, a field deputy for Weiss. "And now I think it is funny that there are three of us all working in the similar areas. I kept hearing about Adina Solomon who works for Zev Yaroslavsky, and then when I finally met her, we had this joyous meeting and became fast friends. The other Adena I found out about when I had to call the LAPD one day, and they started telling me about this project that I knew nothing about. Finally I said something, and they said, ‘Aren’t you with Miscikowski’s office?’"

"It is definitely unusual," said Adena Tessler, who works as a legislative deputy for Miscikowski. "In my entire lifetime, I have not met that many Adinas, so to have three of them all working in municipal politics in Los Angeles is, I would say, unusual."

Although all three spell their name differently, they all share a common commitment to helping people through the political process.

"We all enjoy people, that is part of this job," said Adina Solomon, a deputy for Yaroslavsky. "We are all people people, and we really enjoy helping others."

"The name itself is supposed to mean delicate or gentle," Tessler said,"which is kind of funny when you look at the careers we have chosen. In my area, working with fire, police and public safety, I don’t spend a lot of time being delicate or gentle."