Measure G divided the supes and scrambled allegiances. Will the rift outlast the election?

Supervisor Janice Hahn said this week the board was the most divided she’s seen it.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Rebecca Ellis, with help from my colleague David Zahniser, lining up the latest city and county news for you.

Ten days to go until a bitterly divisive election season comes to a close.

For the five L.A. County supervisors, a change in tenor can’t come soon enough.

“We’ve probably had more division recently than I can remember in the eight years I’ve been here,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday at another unusually testy board meeting. “I don’t like the dynamics lately among us.”

For the supes, the brewing tension has nothing to do with the marquee issues splitting the country. It’s all about Measure G.

On Nov. 5, L.A. County voters will decide if they want to massively shake up one of the state’s most powerful legislative bodies. The sprawling ballot measure would nearly double the size of the Board of Supervisors, form a new ethics commission and create an elected executive who would act almost like a mayor.

The measure has fractured the five supes along unusual lines. Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn, who both spearheaded the measure, joined Supervisor Hilda Solis to get it on the ballot.

Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger panned the proposal as ill-conceived and the process as rushed. Barger had previously called it “anything but transparent,” saying that she and Mitchell were kept in the dark for too long.

This week, Mitchell and Barger put forward their own motion aiming to tackle the county’s oft-befuddling bureaucracy and give more time for the public to weigh in on county policies. It passed — but only after the board’s three Measure G supporters expressed trepidation. The motion ultimately passed 4-1, with Solis voting no.

“Quite frankly, I don’t think this is the direction that I feel comfortable with,” said Solis. “I want to wait until after the election.”

Horvath said she was “skeptical about the motivations” of her colleagues.

In county government parlance, that’s about as confrontational as it gets.

Right now, “the snippy quotient is very high,” said Eric Preven, a longtime board-watcher and self-proclaimed “gadfly extraordinaire.”

“It’s really the hurt feelings about Measure G that in my opinion are provoking a bit of a power struggle,” he said.

The motion that passed Tuesday involved a wonky policy change that, on its face, had little to do with the looming ballot measure.

Mitchell and Barger wanted to start unveiling most board motions in smaller groups — called cluster meetings — so the public has more time to weigh in before the board votes. The move, they argued, would create a more “effective and accountable” county government. Currently, most motions are released to the public four business days before a vote.

“Let me be clear,” said Mitchell. “This, in my perspective, has no direct correlation to Measure G.”

“This week’s motion was fueled by nothing else other than a desire to make our Board’s work more inclusive and accessible to the public,” Barger said in a statement.

Measure G supporters saw it differently, arguing that the motion — with similar themes of transparency and accountability — would confuse voters so close to the election.

Morgan Miller, chair of the Yes on G campaign, called it a “stunt meant to mislead voters” and an example of “disingenuous politicking.”

“This motion is a sad attempt by career politicians to distract voters and undermine real democratic reform,” she wrote.

State of play

— FINAL DAYS FOR D.A.’S RACE: The support enjoyed by L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón in 2020 has vanished as he makes his bid for reelection. He’s now lagging behind his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, in fundraising and in polls. How did we get here?

— BIG FRIDAY NIGHT: Friday night will test the limits of L.A.’s security measures as the city hosts Game 1 of the World Series and several other hotly anticipated sporting events. Mayor Karen Bass said she activated the city’s emergency response center to ensure it all goes off without a hitch.

— MENENDEZ RESENTENCING: Gascón has asked a judge to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, brothers serving life terms for the 1989 killings of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. The request could make the brothers eligible for parole, paving the way for their release.

— A CRY FOR HELP, THEN HOMELESS: For years, a renter tried to get the city to address dire living conditions in her residential complex. This summer, city officials ordered the building vacated, leaving her homeless.

— MOTEL MAYHEM: The city sued the owner of a South L.A. motel where at least seven shootings and 30 arrests have taken place over the last four years. The city says the Sun Motel was a dangerous hub for a street gang and argues the owner did little to stop the criminal activity.

— LYRICAL BACKLASH:Ysabel Jurado, who is running to unseat Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León, landed in hot water for saying “F— the police, that’s how I see ‘em” at a recent event with college students in response to a question on police spending. The question was asked by a Cal State L.A. student who works for De León. Jurado downplayed her use of the F-word, saying “it was just a lyric.”

— CAR-FREE DREAM: Time is ticking for Bass to make good on her promise to create a “car-free” Olympics. With no detailed transportation plans and little money set aside, some policymakers are concerned Bass is running out of time.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to Pacoima, which is represented by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. The operation removed multiple RVs and brought more than 15 people indoors, according to the mayor’s team.
• On the docket for next week: The county supervisors are expected to hear Tuesday about a report from an outside law firm, Covington & Burling, which has conducted a years-long investigation and audit into the county’s contracting process. The audit was approved in October 2021 in the wake of the federal indictment of L.A. City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, who served on the Board of Supervisors from 2008 to 2020.
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