The Last Statesman

LOWELL BACHMAN, (82), is a six-term Los Angeles County Supervisor. He’s sarcastic, feisty, and cranky having reached an age where it makes no sense to mince words. He’s also just had a disturbing visit with his doctor. Although tests still need to be conducted, Lowell, already knows – it’s not going to be good news.

After his medical exam, Lowell attends the weekly Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors hearing. A meeting he has attended for 42 years. This one’s different. A woman begs the Board to provide help for her troubled, and homeless son - CORPORAL JAIME FLORES.

Lowell visits Jaime on skid row and is stunned by his situation and ashamed that he and his fellow Board members sat on their bureaucratic hands. This forces Lowell to reassess his long political career. Lowell decides to make one last attempt to change his legacy while at the same time doing something meaningful. He’s going to spearhead the establishment of the County’s barracks for homeless Vets.

However, none of the other Supervisors are interested in the issue, the local media could care less, and Lowell can't move his agenda forward given the bureaucratic trappings of local politics and Board protocols.

In frustration, Lowell abandons politics as usual. He curses at the other Supervisors at Board Hearings and creates a weekly illness as a cover for his erratic behavior (e.g., one week he has Tourette's syndrome, the following week, Alzheimer's, etc.). His antics and feigned craziness become the focus of local and national news and become “must-see TV”. A small price to pay to get folks to finally start paying attention to the Board and the homeless veteran's problem.

While good for his cause, Lowell’s behavior serves as an embarrassment to his son, GOVERNOR JASON BACHMAN who happens to be in the middle of a re-election campaign. The press coverage of Lowell’s antics is killing Jason in the polls. To make matters worse. GEORGE MCKINNEY, another Los Angeles Supervisor has launched his campaign for Governor and is using Lowell's behavior as the prime attack against his son. Jason asks his father to tone it down – but that’s not happening. It’s Lowell’s last chance.

Just at the point that Jason is set to disavow Lowell, he decides instead to join forces with Lowell to put a Homeless Veterans Barracks Program on the ballot.

Jason is ultimately re-elected as Governor by the narrowest margin in the State’s history and the ballot initiative for a barracks program is successful. Lowell lives long enough to see the ribbon cutting on the first barracks. Better yet, he knows that he has transformed himself as well as his son from a typical politician to a statesman.