This article was originally published by L.A. Public Press, and is republished here with permission.
This November, Los Angeles County voters will have the opportunity to vote on a charter amendment that, if passed, will begin a years-long process to reform the county’s governance structure. It proposes creating an independent ethics commission, expanding the powerful LA County Board of Supervisors, and adding an elected countywide executive office (aka a county mayor).
Government reform has been at the forefront of conversations at recent Board of Supervisors’ meetings. Early in July, supervisors Lindsey Horvath (Third District) and Janice Hahn (Fourth District) introduced a motion proposing the various reforms.
It wasn’t long before an array of organizations and people, including some supervisors, raised concerns about the process in which these proposed reforms came about.