Los Angeles has nearly 4 million people. You might think the 15-member City Council, with each council member representing around 260,000 people, is normal for a big city.
But it’s not at all typical. L.A.’s council districts are the largest, by population, in the nation. The City Council has had 15 members for nearly a century, unchanged since 1924, when Los Angeles had fewer than 600,000 people and a ratio of about one council member to every 38,000 residents.
These outdated districts, each covering about 34 square miles, are a key reason why city government just doesn’t seem to function.
