Erasing the Invisible Shield : L.A. Amendment 2 would provide valuable reform in Civil Service

The American Civil Service system has both a proud and a tortured history. Born out of infestations of municipal corruption, designed as a tamper-proof antidote to cronyism, the very notion of Civil Service is a testament to the enduring ideal of meritocracy. But in too many places Civil Service has come to seem more like an invisible shield to protect government workers from the people and their elected representatives.

It was corruption in Los Angeles in the 1930s that led to virtually all of city government being wrapped in a Civil Service cocoon. Civil Service has a place in government, to be sure, but it is no cure-all for corruption.

A City Charter amendment on the April 11 municipal ballot would pare back Civil Service excesses. It would allow Mayor Richard Riordan and his successors to appoint--and with some limitations to remove--most of the city’s top managers. Charter Amendment 2 would still exempt a few positions for special reasons, such as the executive director of the Ethics Commission and the chief of police (whose situation is already covered by a 1992 charter amendment). If approved by the voters, Charter Amendment 2 will inject a measure of accountability into city government and give the mayor added influence over City Hall’s bureaucracy.

Similar measures have failed four times in the past because, in part, voters feared the opposite of an encrusted Civil Service: government by political hacks. But this latest version is nuanced. It requires the mayor to observe a formal process of removal that can last as long as a year, and it empowers the City Council to review any mayoral discipline or removal. It reduces the possibility of crass politics, while increasing the prospect of accountability in government. We urgea “yes” vote.