For the past half-year, a small group of leading scholars has been quietly meeting to envision a less broken version of Los Angeles city government.
The L.A. Governance Reform Project is an academic supergroup of sorts, with members from institutions across the region. Its mission is complex, but also quite straightforward: research and develop an unbiased set of government reform proposals to present for consideration by the City Council and the wider public.
The group started convening after a leaked audio recording upended City Hall last fall, exposing Los Angeles City Council members and a powerful labor leader scheming to consolidate power during the city's decennial redistricting process. The raw and racist remarks revealed in the recording capped years of scandal at L.A. City Hall and catalyzed widespread support for government reform, particularly around the city's redistricting process.
