Two years after Los Angeles City Hall was rocked by scandal, voters on Nov. 5 have the chance to enact important reforms to curb elected officials’ political power and increase independent ethics oversight.
Good government advocates have been pushing these reforms for years but they were largely ignored by the city’s elected leaders, who didn’t want to give up power or face greater scrutiny.
That changed after the release of the leaked recording of three City Council members and a labor official exchanging racist comments about their colleagues, while plotting to carve up the city into districts that protect their own interests. Much of L.A. was united in outrage, and that opened a door through which reform could finally be pushed.
For more than a year the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, led by then-Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilmember Nithya Raman, consulted with academics, community groups and racial justice advocates. The goal was to come up with a package of changes to the city’s charter to increase transparency, discourage corruption and make elected officials more representative and responsive to constituents. The City Charter is like L.A.’s Constitution. It lays out the structure, responsibilities and powers of city government, and any changes, even clarifications, must be approved by the voters.
A few of those changes are on the Nov. 5 ballot, along with one that establishes independent redistricting for L.A. Unified. Other worthwhile reforms proved too controversial for the current leaders, such as expanding the City Council, and were punted to a newly appointed Charter Reform Commission, which will make recommendations for future ballots.
Some reform is better than no reform. Voters should support the following charter amendments, knowing this is the beginning, not the end, of fixing City Hall.
Charter Amendment DD: Yes
Every 10 years state and local governments have to redraw political district lines based on updated census population and demographic information. Los Angeles’ redistricting process is one of the worst. Though it purports to be independent, commissioners are appointed by the same elected officials who benefit from the new lines. There’s nothing independent about it.
Charter Amendment DD would create a truly independent redistricting commission so that never again can the city’s politicians draw their own lines and, in effect, choose their own voters to boost their reelection chances.
The new 16-member redistricting commission would be similar to those for the state and L.A. County. DD directs that the commission be impartial, with members selected though a nonpolitical process to reflect the race, gender, age and income diversity of the city. DD would prohibit political candidates, political staff, lobbyists and others with conflicts of interest from serving on the commission.
This is a long overdue reform that will help restore public confidence in City Hall and encourage more people to participate, which is vital for a healthy democracy.
Charter Amendment LL: Yes
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s redistricting process is beset by the same problems as the city of L.A.’s. There have been rumors through the years of board members attempting to quietly shape the districts they represent, as well as questionable gerrymandering.
District 5, for example, now represented by Jackie Goldberg, takes a weird C-shape that wraps around District 2 and stretches from southeast cities, such as Maywood and Huntington Park, to Los Angeles neighborhoods of Koreatown and Eagle Rock that have markedly different demographics and interests.
Charter Amendment LL would create a 14-member independent redistricting commission to draw the lines for LAUSD Board of Education districts. The commissioners would be appointed with no involvement from politicians, with rules to prevent any conflicts of interest involving the school district. Four members would have to be parents or guardians of L.A. Unified students; undocumented immigrants would be allowed to serve as well.
LAUSD students and their families deserve a school board that better represents them.
Charter Amendment ER: Yes
Los Angeles has a corruption problem. In the last few years, two former City Council members have gone to prison for corruption, one more has been sentenced for fraud and bribery and two current members face accusations of ethics violations. At least four high-ranking city officials have pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of various corruption charges.
The Ethics Commission is the watchdog over the city’s elected officials, candidates for office, political appointees and lobbyists. But the commission doesn’t have the independence or authority to be as powerful as Angelenos expect or need.
Charter Amendment ER would strengthen the commission with several changes. It would guarantee a minimum annual budget so commission staffers aren’t dependent on the goodwill of the City Council and mayor — the people they regulate — for their funding. And it would require the City Council to consider all commission recommendations within 180 days, making it harder for elected officials to kill ethics reforms they don’t like.
ER would also triple penalties, which haven’t been updated in decades, from $5,000 to $15,000 per violation. And it would prohibit elected officials from appointing relatives, campaign consultants or major campaign donors to the commission.
The City Council chose to not put other smart ethics reforms on the ballot, which was disappointing. ER is a good start. Voters should support it and demand more policies to strengthen the Ethics Commission.
Charter Amendment HH: Yes
Charter Amendment HH is a hodgepodge of tweaks and changes to the City Charter, most of minor importance. Some are noteworthy, including giving the city attorney the power to subpoena witnesses and evidence in civil cases and giving the city controller access to contractors’ and subcontractor’s records for audits of how city funds are spent.
HH would also require that the five-member Harbor Commission include one member who lives in San Pedro and one who lives in Wilmington to ensure communities near the Port of Los Angeles have a say in its operations.
Charter Amendment II: Yes
The Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform asked city department managers if there were any charter updates needed to improve operations. They sent back a slew of recommendations, and some of the more simple ones are included in Charter Amendment II.
The changes include clarifying that departments can sell food and merchandise to raise money for operations, allowing electronic signatures on certain government documents and allowing joint-use agreements between LAUSD and the Department of Recreation and Parks to make more recreational space available for the public.