Expanding L.A. County Board

In response to your editorial “The Selfish Gang of Five,” Jan. 5:

The Times’ continued obsession with larger government and higher taxes can be best described as “Edsel Economics.”

Just at the moment when we are witnessing the communist world’s move toward a free market orientation and a dismantling of authoritarian government, The Times is suggesting that Los Angeles County move toward bigger and more centralized government, by expanding the Board of Supervisors and creating a strong executive.

Expanding the board is not the best answer. The City of Los Angeles, with its 15-member council and mayor, has failed to provide adequate municipal services for its residents.

Because the Los Angeles Police Department has been deliberately understaffed, parts of the inner city are infested by gangs and look like Lebanon. Lack of foresight and planning has led to a solid waste crisis, with landfills filled to capacity. The city has a severe sewer problem and is being sued by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The streets are not adequately cleaned. And yet, the mayor and 15-member council members sit around like Nero, fiddling while Rome burns.

Those who are hurt by this liberal philosophy are the middle and lower economic classes. The strident wailing for a larger Board of Supervisors would result in many millions of dollars being taken from our essential sheriff, fire and health budgets to pay for more bureaucrats and bigger government. This mode of thinking is reactionary.

Enlarging the Board of Supervisors in order to encourage greater ethnic and racial voting is a step backward from our goal of a color-blind society. Just as we do not require a religious test for office, we should not require one to be of a particular ethnic background to run for public office.

I would venture to say that the County of Los Angeles has a higher ethnic diversity in top management than The Times. People of various ethnic backgrounds have been candidates for the Board of Supervisors. In fact, The Times endorsed Kenneth Hahn over a qualified black candidate, Gil Smith, in a recent election. Now The Times is calling for a quota predicated upon race.

The Board of Supervisors is a diverse body, with Protestant, Catholic and Jewish members. One member is foreign-born, two others were born outside of this state, one is of Hispanic heritage, another is of Slavic heritage. Each member has been elected with the active support of our various ethnic communities.

Within the 86 cities, the mayors, city council and school board members are comprised of all of our ethnic groups. Within county government we have ethnic diversity in management and in our many county commissions.

MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH

Supervisor, Fifth District

Los Angeles County