Los Angeles has been presented with a rare opportunity to redistribute political power and improve representation and governance. The leaked recording of three City Council members and a labor official breezily exchanging racist comments about their colleagues, while plotting to carve up the city into districts that protect their own interests, has united much of L.A. in outrage. And that outrage opens a door through which key reforms can be pushed.
Over the last month, The Times editorial board outlined in depth three key reforms that we think can vastly improve Los Angeles governance. Now we look at how to make those reforms happen.
The simplest first step is to change the redistricting process, so that never again can the city’s politicians draw their own lines and, in effect, choose their own voters. Redistricting reform — through the creation of an independent redistricting commission — has improved the process in California and most Western states, plus Michigan, and it is increasingly common in cities and counties. Adopting this approach in Los Angeles should be relatively simple and uncontroversial, with the council presenting voters a ballot measure to amend the City Charter.
