Animal Regulations Nominee Confirmed

The Los Angeles City Council voted 8 to 3 Tuesday to confirm the appointment of Evelynne Exe of Van Nuys to the Animal Regulations Commission despite the opposition of animal rights groups.

Exe, nominated to the commission post by Mayor Richard Riordan, was sharply criticized by Animal Alliance spokeswoman Joan Luchs as close-minded and out of step with efforts to reform the Animal Regulation Department, the agency that the commission governs.

Exe opposed a voter-approved ballot measure, Proposition 5, that gave the five-member commission new authority in running the Animal Regulation Department, and she also fought a plan to extend the number of days that city shelters will hold pets before destroying them, Luchs said.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, a supporter of Proposition 5, said Exe should not be appointed to a commission whose empowerment she opposed. “If you don’t believe in it, you shouldn’t be put in charge to carry it out,” she said.

But Councilwoman Laura Chick said the best ideas for running the animal regulation agency would emerge from a debate between people with differing perspectives. Chick said she believed that Exe would, if outvoted on the commission, abide by the will of the majority.

Exe said little in her defense, but tearfully promised the council that she would “do one helluva job” for the city.