LA city attorney proposes ballot measure for new council maps

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer called Wednesday for the City Council to hold a special election next spring that would create new council maps prior to the 2024 election.

Feuer held a news briefing at City Hall in response to leaked tapes Sunday revealing a leaked conversation between three council members and a top county labor official that included racist comments and discussions about redistricting.

His proposed ballot measure would require the city to contract with Los Angeles County to use the county’s independent redistricting commission to redraw the lines before 2024. The commission would be independent of the City Council.

Council members appoint representatives to the 21-member redistricting commission, which meets every 10 years to redraw council district boundaries. The leaked conversation took place last October while the commission was meeting, with the council members each attempting to have maps drawn in their favor.

“We urgently need to act to begin to heal the divisions in our city and restore public confidence in the way council boundaries are drawn,” Feuer said. “I’m proposing an open and transparent process, free from involvement by elected officials.

“Leaving the power to draw their own district lines in the hands of the politicians who can benefit from how those lines are drawn is an enormous conflict of interest. It must end immediately.”

Separately, the council on Friday is slated to consider placing a measure on the 2024 ballot that would create an independent redistricting commission for the city.

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