Can LA City Council reform itself?
September 8, 2023
Welcome to the second issue of Report Forward by journalist Alissa Walker.
The Big Report
OUR LA coalition members talk governance reform in West Adams on August 31. Photo by Roxana Reyes
Since 1924, the 15-member legislative body that has met in LA’s City Hall hasn’t expanded, even as the city’s population has quadrupled. Now, for the first time in a century, there are real signs that may change. A 33-page report delivered to LA City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform last week by the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) indicated “broad support for expanding the size of the City Council” with “a preference for a Council that is equal to or greater than 21 members.” Even Council President Paul Krekorian acknowledged that 23 council members would be the “sweet spot.” But as the subsequent discussion revealed, it’s a concept that many of the seven councilmembers in attendance hadn’t quite warmed up to yet, even if, as polling and public comment confirms, their constituents are clearly ready to build an addition to the very horseshoe they were seated around.
Over the past year, two coalitions have been at the forefront of the conversations around council expansion: Fair Rep LA and OUR LA. Fair Rep LA was established after the rocky 2021 redistricting season raised questions about the blatant inequities in LA’s process — inequities which were, of course, later confirmed when the leaked audio recordings exposed the backroom deals being made to disempower renters, Black constituents, and immigrant communities. In the wake of those recordings being made public in October 2022, OUR LA was formed by 12 organizations with the goal of creating a community-based reform agenda with policy recommendations addressing the needs of low-income and BIPOC Angelenos. Additionally, a group of academics known as the Los Angeles Governance Reform Project began convening shortly after the leaked recording. All three groups published recommendations — Fair Rep LA; OUR LA; Governance Reform Project — which call for an expansion to at least 23 councilmembers.
The three groups are also making recommendations about another key governance reform issue: moving LA to an independent redistricting process — meaning the redistricting commissioners who draw the lines would not be appointed by councilmembers, nor would the final districts be subject to council approval — which they argue needs to happen in concert with council expansion in order to draw fairer, more representative districts. (And, honestly, should probably include a do-over of what we now know was a corrupted 2021 process.)
Changing LA’s redistricting process to an independent one has plenty of political support; it seems very likely to happen, as Krekorian said, “come hell or high water.” This is due to the stench of the 2021 process revealed by the Fed Tapes, but also because measures introduced at the state level over the past year might force the city to move to an independent redistricting process anyway, thanks to groups like Common Cause, which have long advocated for a independent process. (Although how independent LA’s process will be is the big question.)
But increasing the number of councilmembers is a much more complex and sometimes contentious proposition. Namely because doing so would require sitting councilmembers to surrender some of their own power. And that power is vast. Each of LA’s 15 councilmembers represent an average of 264,885 constituents, which is fairly astounding when you consider that the two other most populous cities in the U.S. have more than three times the number of representatives: New York City’s 51 councilmembers represent 172,631 people each, Chicago’s 50 councilmembers represent 54,944 people each. When comparing residents per elected official across the country, the city of LA is an outlier in almost every aspect. The only local government bodies with worse ratios are large California counties, topped by — wait for it — Los Angeles County, where five supervisors represent more than two million people each. (That’s a whole other expansion conversation, and one which hasn’t even really begun in a serious way.)
When it comes to residents per elected official, no U.S. city comes close to Los Angeles. Chart by Fair Rep LA
Because the council size is defined by Los Angeles’s city charter (basically, the city’s constitution), the city’s voters will need to vote on a charter amendment to change the number of councilmembers. But this type of ballot measure hasn’t passed since 1924, when the council was expanded to its current 15 members. There have been other efforts at council expansion — in 1999, two competing ballot measures to expand the council to 21 and 25 members both failed — but the difference now is the combination of racist officials scheming on tape and a streak of councilmember indictments has forged real momentum around the issue. Angelenos have been able to plug into community meetings and teach-ins, participate in polls and surveys, see simulations and modeling, and even make hypothetical crowdsourced maps using sophisticated software tools to demonstrate what a city with smaller districts might look like. (Imagine: a Koreatown council district that actually looks a lot like Koreatown!) And this is all in addition to the public hearings of the City Council’s own governance reform committee (although these have been harder to attend in-person as they’re often held during the day, don’t allow remote comment, and the recordings sometimes have very poor audio quality).
But there has never been more public engagement on governance reform than there has over the last year, and that alone is significant, says Kristin Nimmers, the Policy and Campaign Manager for the California Black Power Network, and OUR LA coalition member. “They’ve presented this option of expansion to voters a couple of times, and it's gotten rejected. And part of that was because the work hadn't been done with community members that we're doing through these convenings,” she says. “So if we can make sure this process is equitable, then we can make sure a lot of these other processes are equitable.”
What Do the People Say?
The findings illustrate one clear through line: Angelenos are, in general, very supportive of governance reform, including council expansion; and Black, Asian, and multiracial voters feel particularly underrepresented by LA’s current government. According to a scientific poll of likely voters conducted this summer by FM3 Research and released by Fair Rep LA: “Majorities favor expanding the City Council, including 62% who support expanding to 23 members and 55% who support 29 members. After pro and con messaging on Council expansion, opinions remain solid and increase slightly in favorability to 64% for 23 members and 59% for 29 members, respectively.”
Overall, according to FM3, people of color are more in favor of expansion than white Angelenos, with 66% of Latino Angelenos, 64% of APA Angelenos and 59% of Black Angelenos in favor compared to 53% of white Angelenos.
Data from FM3 Research’s 2023 poll.
These results match up with a CAUSE scientific poll of LA registered voters conducted by Strategies 360 in late 2022. Nearly two-thirds of Black Angelenos favored expansion after hearing pro/con messaging, along with approximately three out of five Latino, APA, and white Angelenos. That poll’s authors noted that “less than half of Asian Pacific Americans feel represented well in Los Angeles City Hall (46%), the lowest of any group by double digits… The APA community’s openness to expansion of the number of city council seats may be tied to feeling not being represented well in City Hall.”
Questions from a Strategies 360 poll conducted in 2022.
Across coalitions, there is general agreement that at least 23 councilmembers would mean more representative districts, potentially giving Black and APA constituents multiple districts with their own pluralities, which is not possible with 15 districts. (Based on its modeling, OUR LA contends that going above 31 districts starts to dissolve these pluralities.) But a city as fractured as LA might require some additional creativity, which is why the Los Angeles Governance Reform Project landed on a recommendation of 25 members with a twist: 21 council districts, plus 4 at-large reps, which could be elected citywide or divided up geographically by region. (Although it’s still unclear if this hybrid approach, which exists in cities like Houston and Philadelphia, would pass legal muster under the California Voting Rights Act.) There’s an opportunity here for a place like LA to be a true innovator on the issues of disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, and voting rights that are affecting the entire nation, says Sara Sadhwani, a professor of politics at Pomona College specializing in Asian American and Latino voting behavior and a member of the Los Angeles Governance Reform Project. “It’s not so much that LA has grown significantly as a population, but also demographically — we are changing and diversifying, and that is putting pressure on communities to be in competition for representation,” she says. “I see an opening to a broader conversation about achieving representation in a multiracial era.”
So What’s Next?
The first step for council expansion means actually putting a measure up to voters, which must be approved for the ballot by those very same hesitant councilmembers. During committee meetings, many of them expressed concern that divvying up the city into more districts would lead to reductions in staff or services. There is also a web of logistical questions for implementation:
How will elections for an expanded council work within our current system that alternates election cycles between even- and odd-numbered districts? (It may mean we elect everyone at once.)
Should it change size every 10 years based on population growth (or decrease)?
Should we implement other major reforms to improve representation and combat corruption — create a more independent ethics commission, implement public funding of elections with democracy vouchers, switch to ranked choice voting, limit council’s discretionary power over land-use decisions, overhaul the Neighborhood Council system, or expand participatory budgeting — before we consider growing this flawed legislative body?
At this point, the polling shows that really anything is on the table for voters, and reforms should aim high, says retired councilmember Mike Bonin. “Angelenos are hungry for a better way of doing things, and these results show they have a hefty appetite for a full menu of smart proposals,” he says. “We need to get these reforms on the ballot and give voters the chance to make the changes they demand.”
What feels the most up in the air, particularly after the committee’s conversation last week, is the date when any proposed reforms would be implemented. The questions of independent redistricting and council expansion are now likely to land on the November 2024 ballot, when a presidential election would turn out a larger and more diverse electorate. But whether the city would be required to carry out an independent redistricting with more districts (assuming both measures pass), in time for the 2026 elections is anything but certain. The CLA report seems to hint at a much slower timeline, where the first election of the expanded council might not happen until 2032 — a full decade after the leaked audio recording, even if voters passed independent redistricting in 2024. If the council expansion is the first step, that’s much too long to wait for more changes which the headlines of the past year have proven to be increasingly urgent. “This council expansion won't solve all the problems, but it's building momentum for us to get towards deeper structural reforms,” says Nimmers. “It’s a stepping stone for us to continue this fight.”
Have more questions about council expansion? (Of course you do, it’s complicated!) You’re invited to “Report Forward Live!,” an opportunity to hear more about these reforms to curb corruption and build a more representative democracy. Join a Zoom conversation with LAFI Deputy Director Godfrey Plata and me, journalist Alissa Walker, on Thursday, September 14, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Please RSVP at https://www.laforward.org/events/charter-reform
Progress Report
Just before Measure ULA went into effect April 1, a city report estimated that the new tax on sales of properties valued over $5 million could bring in as much as $672 million for homelessness prevention each year. But that figure will be much lower for the immediate future, partially due to external factors like skyrocketing mortgage rates which are curtailing real-estate transactions, and partially due to loopholes being exploited by the city’s wealthiest property owners. (There’s also a state lawsuit going to court next month attempting to overturn the measure entirely; a federal one was dismissed.) In the meantime, Mayor Karen Bass’s administration put together a creative temporary fix: using FEMA dollars to advance ULA’s first $150 million, therefore establishing the six-program expenditure plan designed to keep Angelenos housed right away. As Laura Raymond, Director of ACT-LA, described the decision during a conversation with Bass held at SEIU Local 2015 last month: “This is a moment to do something very big and very bold.”
Councilmember Nithya Raman joined the United to House LA coalition on the steps of City Hall last week. Photo by Council District 4
That “very big and very bold” move was finalized last week as the City Council officially passed the $150 million United to House LA funding plan. In addition to the city’s first dedicated fund to produce affordable housing, ULA will deliver the first-ever city-financed eviction prevention, right-to-counsel, and anti-harassment programs, as well as a brand-new emergency rental assistance fund that will launch in mid-September. “Today is a momentous day for Los Angeles,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman, who chairs the Housing and Homelessness Committee. “With over 44,000 Angelenos without a permanent home in the City of Los Angeles and with evictions surging, the need for these funds has never been more pronounced.”
Local report
Just 3 percent of LA-area renters who receive eviction notices have legal representation, compared to 88 percent of landlords, according to a very timely report from Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) and the Los Angeles Right to Counsel Coalition. In addition to highlighting the racial inequities of this power imbalance, the report walks through the many benefits that guaranteeing renters the right to an attorney would deliver to the region, including saving taxpayers a lot of money each year — $120.3 million for the City of Los Angeles and $226.9 million for Los Angeles County — that could be put towards housing instead.
About 1 in 5 LA city jobs are currently vacant per a report-back from the Personnel Department (which is itself facing a 11.5 percent vacancy rate). Those numbers are particularly alarming after 12 councilmembers voted to approve $1 billion over four years in raises and incentives for LAPD, a department that only has a 17 percent vacancy rate. Yet there’s no plan in place (yet) to boost numbers for the 22 other departments facing crisis-level staffing issues, like Street Services (23.44 percent vacant), Sanitation (21.38 percent vacant), or Recreation and Parks (27.32 percent vacant). Improving hiring and retention practices to fill those vacancies was among the demands of city workers during their one-day strike last month.
National Report
Unions Good: The hot labor summer sweeping the nation has a new fan: the U.S. Treasury Department. An August report by the department says that "increased unionization has the potential to contribute to the reversal of the stark increase in inequality seen over the last half-century,” noting that unions increase worker wages by 15 to 20 percent. It’s a resonant message here in LA, which has become the epicenter of labor power — and is also an epicenter of income inequality.
Water Gone: A sweeping New York Times investigation projects a dire forecast for the country’s overtaxed aquifers, where groundwater supplies are running dry. Here in California, both local drinking water and the nation’s food supply are threatened. Because LA still prioritizes pavement over permeability, most of the record-breaking August rainfall of Hurricane Hilary was quickly funneled out to sea, but Measure W is slowly funding infrastructure that helps us retain and reuse some of that water.
Field Report
LA Forward Institute has begun hosting a series of nonpartisan candidate forums for the March 2024 elections. So far, there have been two forums — one for LA City Council District 2 last week and another for LA City Council District 10 last night. In response to community members’ questions, candidates spoke about police and unarmed response; social housing; City Council expansion; mobility and transportation, and climate. Full videos can be watched at https://www.laforward.institute/forums.
LAFI Council District 10 Nonpartisan Candidate Forum
LAFI Council District 2 Nonpartisan Candidate Forum
Coming up next…
LAFI’s Housing Justice Reading Group meets on Sunday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss Race for Profit by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. Race for Profit uncovers how exploitative real estate practices continued well after housing discrimination was legally banned. RSVP for the Zoom at https://www.laforward.org/events/race-for-profit
Join the first-ever Report Forward Live! to learn about council expansion and other governance reform efforts on Thursday, September 14, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. RSVP for the Zoom at https://www.laforward.org/events/charter-reform
LAFI Council District 14 Forum will be held Thursday, September 21, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. RSVP for the Zoom at https://www.laforward.org/events/cd14-forum
Report in
Hi, Alissa Walker here — I’ll be compiling Report Forward every month. Please send reports, studies, white papers, and big policy wins to me at reports@laf.institute — and forward this to someone working to make LA a better place.
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