• Why a ‘democracy package’ of charter amendments needs to be considered independent of elected officials

In October 2022, in response to the racist and hateful leaked audio recording between then-Los Angeles City Council members Nury Martinez, Kevin de Leon, and Gil Cedillo, and in the midst of ongoing corruption scandals plaguing the City Council, the Council voted to explore amending the City Charter to create an independent redistricting commission (IRC) and a larger city council. 

Los Angeles Daily News
By Mike Feinstein
May 13, 2024

But despite public requests to assign city council enlargement to an independent charter reform commission, with the power to send charter amendments directly to the voters, the City Council voted instead to create an Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform — made up only of city council members — to take up independent redistricting and Council enlargement – and keep control of both matters within the City Council. 

City Council member Monica Rodriguez was the only council member voting against the proposal, saying she didn’t believe the Council has the credibility to reform itself: 

“What I believe this committee does is a ruse to reform,” Rodriguez said. “I think we need true reform, and I think we need to do it not by the hands of this own council, but by an independent body that will help us identify where we fall short and where we can reform.”

Now 18 months later — after taking no action on city council enlargement — the Ad Hoc Committee is finally forwarding a Charter Reform Commission proposal to the City Council. 

But instead of an independent body, the Ad Hoc Committee is recommending an advisory Commission, with eight seats directly appointed by elected officials — four by the Mayor, and two each by the City Council President and Pro-Tem, with five more nominated by the eight appointed members, subject to City Council approval.

Most profoundly, the Council will exercise final authority on what charter amendments go onto the ballot for a public vote, including items where the Council arguably has a direct conflict-of-interest.  After all of the corruption and self-dealing charges against City Council members in recent years, what could go wrong with this approach? 

On top of this, incredibly, City Council President Paul Krekorian may not allow public comment when this proposal is up for a Council vote on May 14, because the public was already heard on the topic in committee. This is the Council’s response to the loss of public trust in local democracy? 

Ironically, the City Council recently congratulated itself on sending an IRC to the November 2024 ballot, responding to the existing conflict-of-interest where Council members choose the district boundaries in which they would run, by placing this decision in the hands of an independently established commission instead. 

Yet now the Council seems prepared to institutionalize conflict-of-interest in the charter reform process, where elected officials would substantially affect how their own powers and numbers are debated.  Such questions should be addressed instead by a separate and independent charter reform body, like an IRC or Civic Assembly, with the ability to place charter amendments directly before the voters.  A range of alternatives should be widely vetted and debated via this process — on City Council size and powers, electoral systems, and increasing public engagement.  Accessible in-person independent Commission meetings, large and small, should be held in all 15 City Council districts; and many forms of technology should be brought to bear to ensure wide participation from the great diversity of Los Angeles.  

Most importantly, the attention of this independent Commission should be undivided, because charter amendments they recommend may shape representation and power in Los Angeles for decades. The rest of the Charter can be under the separate review of the elected-official-driven Charter Reform Commission currently being established by the City Council.

They’ll have more than enough to do, without diluting needed focus on Council size and powers, as multiple amendments on other Charter areas are already expected from at least 11 City offices and departments, and more will come forward via the public process.

Los Angeles has a rare opportunity to redistribute political power and improve representation and governance. But to rebuild confidence in local government, this process can’t be biased by elected officials.  LA City Council members need to think outside of themselves as creatures of the system they inhabit, and more directly empower the people they were elected to represent — via an independent charter reform process on local democracy. The city’s historic moment of opportunity demands no less.

Michael Feinstein is a former Santa Monica Mayor (2000-2002) and City Council member (1996-2004), a co-founder of the Green Party of California and a 2018 Green candidate for California Secretary of State.