LOS ANGELES : Proposal to End Mayor’s Remap Veto Power Shelved

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday shelved a proposal to strip the mayor of power to veto revised boundaries for City Council and school board districts.

“I don’t think this council’s record on reapportionment has been so sterling that it ought to become the final arbiter on something that it has continuously in the past, for political reasons, done as it has seen fit,” said Councilman Joel Wachs, a mayoral candidate.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who voted for the proposed ballot measure, called the mayor’s power to veto a remap plan unnecessary. “The mayor is just not in the circle,” said Bernson. “We hold numerous public hearings every time we (redistrict), and then we give the mayor the chance to undo everything we’ve done.”