For the past year, about two dozen of the city's top civic and business leaders have been quietly meeting at the elite 54th floor City Club overlooking downtown Los Angeles to ponder major policy and political issues. From extending term limits to exploring the effort by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District, the group has used an extensive network of contacts to meet with and question policymakers. "We are definitely not trying to be like the old Committee of 25," attorney George Kieffer said, referring to the group of business leaders who dictated public...