LOS ANGELES — In simple terms, the scandal that has sent Los Angeles politics into a tailspin began with a surreptitiously recorded private meeting last year involving three City Council members during which crude, racist comments were made.
But the back story for what one political observer calls this "foreseeable catastrophe" is more than a century old, dating to a time when local officials were deciding how they wanted to govern.
Inspired by a progressive movement sweeping across California, they chose a structure that has for the most part survived challenges and tweaks over the years, maintaining a council that is relatively small and unusually strong.
