As we enter the election season, questions related to governance and government reform will be on the Tuesday, November 5, 2024 ballot. The City of Los Angeles (redistricting, ethics and establishment of a permanent charter reform commission), County of Los Angeles (Board of Supervisors expansion, creation of an ethics commission and elected county executive), and United States government (Project 2025) touch on issues related to the essence of popular sovereignty and representative self-governance.
Since the then-Councilman Mark Ridley Thomas’ October 2021 suspension, the Los Angeles City Council has been considering a variety of reforms to its Charter – the city’s governing document or constitution. Prompted by revelations about underlying political ambitions and racial motivations of then-Council President Nury Martinez, MRT’s removal from the Council raised issues of due process and fundamental fairness, voting rights, representation, redistricting, and ethics. The periodic review of the Charter itself would become a prominent feature of the Council’s deliberations.
As a result, the City Council has placed several matters on the ballot for consideration by City voters on/by November 5, 2021.
Proposed Charter Amendments
Read the ballot language for governance-related Charter Reforms for the Los Angeles City Council (independent redistricting, City ethics commission, and permanent charter reform commission).
Local News Coverage
Learn more through relevant news articles regarding City Charter Reform:
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, July 30, passed on the opportunity to override Mayor Karen Bass’ recent veto of a proposed ballot measure intended at changing the disciplinary process for LAPD officers —including expanding the chief’s powers to fire officers for misconduct. On July 15, Bass vetoed the council’s approval of a measure placing the matter on the November ballot, but the 15-member council could have reversed the veto by lassoing 10 votes in favor of an override.
In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council established a Charter Reform Commission on Tuesday, June 18, which will be tasked with recommending updates to a vast range of government procedures — including possible expansion of the City Council and improving transparency. Council members passed the ordinance 13-0, with the aim of having the commission propose charter amendments for Los Angeles voters to consider on the November 2026 ballot.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to create a new citizen’s commission to look at expanding the size of the council, reducing the number of council meetings and other potential changes to city operations. The 13-member commission will be charged with developing proposals for the November 2026 ballot that would revise the city charter, which spells out the powers and duties of city departments, offices and elected officials. The idea of expanding the 15-member council has been circulating for a few years, with several council members signing on to the idea. Council President Paul Krekorian had hoped to send a council expansion measure to L.A. voters in November.
Self-regulation is a messy business. In politics, it can seem elusive. When elected officials adopt rules to govern the conduct of elected officials, they’re pulled in one direction by constituents who favor restrictions and punishments, and in the other direction by self-preservation, a basic instinct politicians have in abundance. Progress tends to be incremental and uneven as a result. This is where we are with the Los Angeles City Council and its continuing struggle to respond to the public’s shaky confidence. On one hand, indictments and damning revelations about members of the council have convinced even its most recalcitrant members that they need to do something to regain trust. On the other, members like their seats and don’t like facing consequences.
Los Angeles voters in November will weigh in on a ballot measure that would strengthen the city’s ethics oversight after a string of scandals at City Hall. Watchdog groups were deeply disappointed, saying the measure does not go far enough after the City Council watered down a proposal that had included more sweeping changes, such as giving the volunteer Ethics Commission unilateral power to put items on the ballot. The ballot measure passed unanimously by the council on Tuesday would increase penalties for violations of the city ethics code to $15,000 from $5,000. The city department that includes the commission would get a minimum annual budget of $6.5 million, slightly more than what is now proposed for the upcoming fiscal year. Also, a newly created Charter Reform Commission would review the entire city charter.
The Los Angeles City Council moved closer Tuesday to placing on the November ballot a package of ethics reforms designed to fight corruption, but the panel dumped key proposals in the process. Council members unanimously directed the city attorney to draft ballot language for the package, which involves a number of changes to the city charter. The reforms follow successive City Hall scandals that have shaken the public’s trust in elected city officials. Among the biggest proposals: one that would triple the maximum fines imposed on elected officials and others who violate city ethics rules, including campaign finance laws.
The Los Angeles City Council approved amendments Tuesday to a ballot measure to establish an independent redistricting commission that would be tasked with redrawing the boundaries of council districts for future elections. In a 13-0 vote, council members instructed the City Attorney’s Office to update the measure to reflect changes approved by the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform earlier this month. Establishing an independent redistricting commission requires a change to the City Charter, which will need approval by voters. “To say its been a journey to get here is an understatement,” said Councilwoman Nithya Raman, a member of the ad hoc committee. “We are finally here, and I’m very, very excited to be voting on something that will be sent before the voters in November so that we here in the city of Los Angeles can finally get a truly independent redistricting commission.”
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a plan Wednesday to establish an independent redistricting commission for the city and place it on the November 2024 ballot. The council’s action caps a years-long effort to fix a process that has been widely decried as broken. Under the city’s current redistricting system, the City Council has the final say over the maps, which are redrawn every 10 years, and elected officials can appoint members to the redistricting panel who essentially act as their proxies. Implementing independent redistricting would curtail the council’s influence over their own district lines.
The L.A. City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to place a measure on the November 2024 ballot that could create an independent commission to redraw voting districts that reflect population changes in the city. Right now, that responsibility rests with the City Council itself. Calls for the creation of an independent commission emerged after secretly recorded audio was released last year that captured City Council members discussing ways to preserve their political power through the redistricting process. Their conversation included racist and derogatory comments and sparked widespread protests. “This city was rocked,” Council President Paul Krekorian told reporters before the vote. “A lot has changed in the last year and we now have a group of council members who are far more focused on governance reform.”
Issues of representation, governance and ethics have also become matters of interest within Los Angeles County. Were it a state, the County of Los Angeles would rank among the country’s 10 most populous – right behind Michigan. The County Board of Supervisors has placed before the voters several proposals that could have far-reaching impacts on governance.
Proposed Charter Amendments
Read the ballot language governance-related Los Angeles County Charter Reforms (i.e., County Board of Supervisors expansion, direct election of a Chief Executive Officer, and the establishment of an ethics commission).
Local News Coverage
Consider reading the following relevant news articles regarding County Charter Reform:
It’s axiomatic that institutions, whether governmental, academic, philanthropic or corporate, rarely reform themselves. Universally, if systemic change occurs, it tends to come from outside the existing structure for one overriding reason: Those who wield authority within the institution don’t want to risk having their powers diluted or eliminated.
On July 30, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on a governance reform proposal that will appear on the LA County ballot this November. The initiative, authored by Board Chair Lindsey Horvath and Supervisor Janice Hahn, would amend the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Horvath represents the third district, which includes the city of Beverly Hills. Her goal is to update county governance to better represent the modern world.
After weeks of back and forth, the county Board of Supervisors in a final vote Tuesday added a series of proposed County Charter amendments to the November ballot, including an expansion of the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would expand to nine members in 2030 and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of County Legislative Analyst and Director of Budget and Management.
“The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday is scheduled to cast a final vote on putting a series of proposed County Charter amendments to the November ballot, including an expansion of the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would expand to nine members in 2030 and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of County Legislative Analyst and Director of Budget and Management.”
It’s axiomatic that institutions, whether governmental, academic, philanthropic or corporate, rarely reform themselves. Universally, if systemic change occurs, it tends to come from outside the existing structure for one overriding reason: Those who wield authority within the institution don’t want to risk having their powers diluted or eliminated. California’s recent history offers several cogent examples of the syndrome, including the imposition of term limits on legislators and other state officials, the shift to a top-two primary election system and moving the decennial shuffling of legislative and congressional district boundaries from the Legislature to an independent commission.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to cast a final vote Tuesday on putting a series of proposed County Charter amendments on the November ballot, including one that would expand the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would increase in size in 2030, and the position of county CEO would become elected rather than appointed by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of county legislative analyst and director of budget and management.
The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday is scheduled to cast a final vote on putting a series of proposed County Charter amendments to the November ballot, including an expansion of the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would expand to nine members in 2030 and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of County Legislative Analyst and Director of Budget and Management.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – After weeks of back and forth, the county Board of Supervisors in a final vote on Tuesday, July 30, added a series of proposed County Charter amendments to the November ballot, including an expansion of the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would expand to nine members in 2030 and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of county legislative analyst and director of budget and management.
After weeks of back and forth, the county Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in a final vote on Tuesday, July 30, added a series of proposed County Charter amendments to the November ballot, including an expansion of the board from five to nine members. If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would expand to nine members in 2030 and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of County Legislative Analyst and Director of Budget and Management. The proposal also includes the establishment of an Ethics Commission and a Compliance Officer by 2026. The board last week already began the process of creating an Ethics Commission, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger noting that the move doesn’t require voter approval. But if it is also approved on the ballot, the Office of Ethics Compliance will be codified in the charter, protecting it from being disbanded in future absent another public vote.
Despite mounting opposition, a ballot measure that would increase the number of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, create an elected, not appointed, county executive officer and establish an ethics commission received its first vote of approval on Tuesday, July 23. The supervisors voted 3-2 on the ballot measure drawn up by the L.A. County Counsel’s Office. All it needs is a second and final vote that’s set for July 30 and the sweeping governance reform — the first multi-pronged charter reform package in more than 100 years that will change the face of county government — will go before voters on Nov. 5. While the ballot measure moved a giant step closer to county voters, Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted “no,” after arguing the measure will not be revenue neutral, as it says, but will have to be paid for out of county services and other cutbacks.
A plan to increase the number of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, elect a county executive officer and establish an ethics commission was approved by a split vote on Tuesday, July 9. The board directed the Office of County Counsel to draft an ordinance that would incorporate major changes to the way the county government operates as part of a county charter amendment. The supervisors at a later date must vote to place the measure before voters. The board moved forward with the sweeping government reforms by a 3-0 vote with two abstentions. Supervisors Lindsey Horvath, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis voted in favor, while Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger abstained.
