An Unjustified Means : Government: Mayor Bradley, in apparently using the Civil Service Commission to pry the chief from his job, undercuts an important principle.

When former Civil Service Commissioner Clare Bronowski first saw the Rodney G. King beating on television, she probably had no idea that the incident meant her days on the commissionwere numbered. But on Tuesday, she was “transferred,” after six months of service, to the Municipal Auditorium/Convention Center Commission. Bronowski, a good soldier, had no choice but to agree to the switch.

The transfer sets an enormously bad precedent. Mayor Tom Bradley has either stacked the deck in order to influence a hearing on Police Chief Daryl Gates or has attempted to send a message to Gates and the public that he is determined to get Gates out. While Gates’ removal may be a worthy goal, Bradley’s decision undercuts the very idea of citizen commissions.

Bronowski, while not at odds with the mayor, has no ties to him. She was nominated by City Council member Joy Picus, for whom Bronowski served as an aide. Six months ago, the mayor probably thought not at all about Bronowski’s appointment to the obscure commission.

Now the commission is not obscure. If the Police Commission were to recommend disciplinary action against Gates, or his dismissal, that recommendation would be referred to the Civil Service Commission for a hearing.

It is easy to imagine the mayor reviewing the commissioners to see how that hearing would turn out. One commissioner is Julie Depoian, the wife of a Bradley aide. Another is the Rev. Kenneth Flowers, a minister whose congregation has called for Gates’ resignation. Two likely votes against Gates.

The other two are commission President Casmiro Tolentino and Vice President Anthony de Los Reyes. Both are question marks to the mayor. Both have been on the commission for years, however, and it would have been difficult to dismiss them. So Bronowski was the obvious target. She is to be replaced by Larry Drasin, a longtime Bradley supporter, giving the mayor three sure votes.

Since there is only a slim chance that the Gates matter will get as far as the commission, it’s more plausible that in the Bronowski transfer Bradley is sending a strong message to Gates and to the public.

The transfer, whatever the motive, sets a dangerous precedent. While commission appointments are political to start with, this is different because the transfer appears intended to influence the outcome of a specific hearing.

This tinkering makes the commission’s task impossible, since its purpose is to provide a fair and impartial hearing before disciplinary action is taken.

The transfer is comparable to allowing the mayor to choose the judge assigned to a specific case. Yes, individuals are often appointed to the bench based on their overall political views, and that is part of the system. That’s a far cry from selecting a judge to decide a specific pending case based on the judge’s political views. Would we want the mayor to choose the judge handling the trial of the officers indicted in King’s beating?

The message to commissioners is clear: The mayor can remove them in order to ensure the outcome of decisions or replace them if he disapproves of their decisions. But commissions must be above that in order to do their job--particularly in highly charged cases. If the mayor is considering the appointment of an independent commission in the King beating, what message has he sent?

Since Bronowski has resigned, the only practical control left is for the City Council to reject the mayor’s new appointment to the Civil Service Commission. That will be difficult because the action might be perceived as “pro-Gates.” But it is not pro-anyone to let the commission work without tampering. It is called “due process,” something that applies even to the chief of police.