IN LOS ANGELES : Charter Anomalies

Los Angeles residents who want fair and open local elections and a rational pension system for their public employees will vote yes on Charter amendments N and M.

Measure N would redress an inequitable city Charter anomaly. At present, the Charter allows voters to request a ballot recount after a city primary, but forces them to get a Superior Court order to challenge the results of a general or special election.

Charter Amendment N would change the law so that electors could challenge any count without going to court. To forestall reckless or frivolous demands, the amendment proposes that anyone requesting a recount be required to post a bond to cover its cost.

If the new tally fails to overturn the election, the bond will be forfeited to cover expenses incurred. If the election is invalidated, the city will bear the cost, and the bond will be returned to the challenger.

Supporters of Charter Amendment N are correct when they argue that passage of the measure will ensure that Los Angeles city elections always will be as fair and open an exercise of popular sovereignty as they ought to be. Vote yes on N.

The benefits of Charter Amendment M are similarly incontestable. The measure simply proposes to remove from the Charter a requirement that changes in the pension programs of the city’s civilian employees be reconciled with the county’s pension scheme. New federal and state laws have made such comparisons unnecessary; consequently, Charter Amendment M should be approved.