Hahn Calls for Public Vote on Adding 2 Supervisors

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn on Tuesday called for a public vote on expansion of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to seven members.

Although the board’s new liberal majority favors expansion, Hahn and Supervisors Ed Edelman and Gloria Molina have yet to agree on how sweeping the ballot measure should be. Molina said she wants any proposed ballot measure to include ethics rules for county officials. Edelman said he wants to also put before voters a proposal to establish an elected county executive.

Conservative Supervisor Mike Antonovich said he remains opposed to board expansion but proposed that a citizens’ committee studying redistricting recommend a five-district map that would go into effect Nov. 1 and a seven-district plan that could go before voters in June, 1992. Although the county is under a court-ordered redistricting plan, supervisors must adjust their district boundaries to the 1990 Census.