Give City Government Back to the People : Mayor’s race: Finances and civic pride would benefit from accountability and oversight.

I have been observing the activities of the mayor’s office and the City Council for the past dozen years and have become acutely aware of the severe malfunctionings of local government. It is painfully obvious that as long as the election of local officials is related to the amount of campaign contributions raised, the ability to govern--the knowledge of how to manage and the talent to get things accomplished--takes a back seat. Even the media acknowledge this fact, reporting on fund raising as an election story itself.

I believe that the only way Los Angeles can attract people with the most ability to run this city is by completely abolishing this pressing need for more and more money to run more and more innocuous campaigns. This assures the turned-off electorate that important issues, such as crime, gangs, budget shortfalls, homelessness, jobs and unemployment, planning, education and infrastructure will never be addressed in a meaningful way.

The mayor of Los Angeles can take immediate steps to curb this obsession with huge campaign contributions by leading the City Council in the passage of ordinances to make television, radio and news advertising spots available to all qualified candidates. That would make the demeaning and obscene fund raising from people who do constant business with the city immediately unnecessary. There’s no question that more highly qualified candidates would soon run for office.

My foremost reason for running for mayor is to curb this dependence on these contributions from special interests, which I believe the availability of either donated media time or government-paid media time would quickly solve. The city-owned cable Channel 35 should be hosting at least two debates in this current campaign.

I also believe that all elected officials should be required to allow maximum citizen participation in all their official activities. I would make the mayor’s office open to any citizen who has any grievance at least one full day each month. Mayor Tom Bradley implemented this procedure in his first 1 1/2 years in office, and I would resurrect this idea to allow all citizens to become part of the governing process.

I would also use the power of the mayor’s office to make the City Council meet at least one evening per week out of its three scheduled meetings. I would also make the council meet in every Council District at least once a year. Then, citizens who work during the day could see and hear for themselves what’s going on.

In view of the shortfall of taxpayers’ money to cover the city’s $8.6-billion budget, I would call for the appointment of a Little Hoover Commission to investigate each city department in detail to make sure that no funds were being wasted. The present method of freezing the replacement of retiring employees is unscientific and isn’t working. A Little Hoover Commission run by competent, knowledgeable volunteers could easily find millions of improperly spent tax dollars. Why did it take present city officials 10 years to discover that hundreds of millions are available for general fund purposes from the airports, the harbor and the redevelopment agency?

An audit oversight committee like the one Los Angeles County has also would have to be impaneled at once. The audit controller performed 25 important audits in 1992, recommending that changes be implemented in various departments. With no oversight committee to see that these recommended actions took place, these changes languish. With budget money so vital, these audits can no longer be ignored.

Once these basic changes are instituted, it will be that much easier to face up to the current issues of the day, which are all handicapped by the lack of proper financing. With the help of an active and involved public, the mayor could lead the way for early solutions to the problems of gangs, drugs and crime, homelessness, unemployment and infrastructure. With 3.5 million people directly involved in these solutions, led by capable representatives, who could stop Los Angeles’ march back to its former status of the best place to live in the best country of this world?