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Top Posts Dec 15, 2023
Los Angeles City Hall. | Photo courtesy of the Office of the Controller
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Leading experts and academics on governance reform Thursday called for an independent redistricting commission, expansion of the Los Angeles City Council and stronger ethics rules as city leaders continue efforts to restore public trust.
The Los Angeles Governance Reform Project, a coalition of academic experts from USC, CSUN, UCLA and Pomona College, among others, held a Zoom meeting to discuss their final recommendations for governance reform. Experts from Catalyst California, Common Cause and other organizations joined the professors to discuss their thoughts on the topic as well.
“We took a research-informed approach, engaging with the diverse voices of Los Angeles to ensure our recommendations reflect the needs and aspirations of our city’s residents,” said Gary Segura, co-chair of LAGRP and professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “These reform recommendations are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.”
It should be noted the LA City Council has taken steps on some of these issues. On Nov. 29, the council unanimously approved a proposal for the creation of an independent redistricting commission, which will be charged with the redistricting process.
The proposal will be prepared and placed on the November 2024 ballot for voters to decide.
Additionally, the council approved a motion calling for the formation of a Charter Reform Commission, which would also need approval by voters before it can be implemented.
The council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform Committee continues to mull over proposals for increasing the size of council, as well as establishing an independent budgeting process for the Ethics Commission.
Yet, LAGRP called for the establishment of two independent commissions, one for the city and one for Los Angeles Unified School District. Commissioners should be selected through a multi-stage process, ensuring representation from different areas of the city, the group advised.
Applicants would be required to live in the city for at least three years, disclose political donations and abide by transparency regulations.
On the issue of council and school board size, the group called for the City Council to expand to 25 members, with 20 elected by-district and five at-large members. Academics recommended expanding the LAUSD Board from seven to 11 seats.
LAGRP recommended ethics reforms such as empowering the city’s Ethics Commission authority to approve City Council ethics legislation and to enact policy recommendations directly on the ballot.
The group also suggested the expansion of the commission from five to seven members, with the mayor and City Council president each appointing one of the additional members.
According to a survey, which the group conducted, about 76% of registered voters believe district lines are better drawn by a neutral agency; about 76% of registered voters support the City Council being expanded to 21 seats and 66% would support at least 25 seats, and 71% of voters supported an 11-seat LAUSD Board.
On ethics reforms, nine in 10 voters believed ethics rules should be reformed, and about 42% of voters said these reforms should be made stronger.
“The city of Los Angeles is at a pivotal moment in its history, and our final recommendations aim to address long-standing issues and usher in a new era of transparent, accountable, and community-driven municipal government,” said Ange-Marie Hancock, Ph.D., co-chair of LAGRP and executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University.
She added, “Reaching this goal will take a multi-faceted and multi-pronged approach. Our recommendations are intended to be considered as a comprehensive, research-based package that will help Los Angeles thrive.”
The group strongly favored bringing these measures to the voters in November 2024, an election in which voter participation would be at its highest. If passed by voters, an independent redistricting commission should be convened to create new districts for the 2028 elections, they added.
Calls for governance reform were heightened by a series of corruption scandals plaguing City Hall, and the 2022 leaked recording in which three council members — two of them now gone — were caught discussing ways to redraw districts in their favor.
