Bradley’s Veto Keeps Issue Off June Ballot

In a tug-of-war with the Los Angeles City Council, Mayor Tom Bradley on Friday vetoed a proposed ballot measure that would give the council greater control over the city’s semiautonomous commissions, including those overseeing the port and airport.

The measure, approved by the council last month for placement on the June 5 ballot, proposes giving the council final say over matters that are now in the control of the Bradley-appointed commissions.

Bradley called the council action a “naked power grab” that would increase the influence of campaign contributors and allow the council to “grab control of millions of dollars in contracts now awarded by citizen commissions.”

The commissions, which oversee seven key city departments, are appointed by Bradley. Under the proposed Charter amendment, the council would be permitted to reverse commission decisions in selected cases but would not routinely review them.

Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, who sponsored the measure, said Friday she will seek a veto override when the council meets on Tuesday. But she said she is unsure whether she has the 10 votes necessary to revive the measure.

“It’s not something we’re making political, it’s already political,” Flores said. “All you need to do is look at some of the commissioners and their ties to the mayor. If that’s not political, I don’t know what is. . . .”

Flores said she is particularly concerned with the decisions of the Harbor Department and its commission because they affect her South Los Angeles district, but decisions are now unappealable.

Over the last decade, there have been three or four harbor-related matters, including the awarding of some contracts, that might have been reversed by the council if it had the authority, she said.

“I know council members felt very strongly that there should be this oversight,” Flores said.

“We don’t have the time, nor do we want to take the effort to go through these things, but at least it would help the commissions to be a little more responsive,” Flores said.

In addition to the Harbor Commission, the measure would apply to the commissions that oversee the airport, water and power, library and parks and recreation departments, as well as the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Board of Zoning Appeals.