New Promise for L.A. Ethics Panel : Rebecca Avila is expected to bolster commission’s image

When Ben Bycel was unceremoniously dismissed as executive director of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission last year, reform-minded Angelenos had every reason to wonder whether the agency they created to keep city government clean would lose its reputation for independence--a quality that Bycel had abundantly displayed. Well, with the permanent assignment of interim executive director Rebecca Avila, the skeptics among us can breathe easier.

Just the second director in the commission’s short history, Avila has well-developed knowledge of the workings of city government and more than a decade of experience in the arena of political reform. The 34-year-old Whittier native worked in Washington for seven years with Common Cause, the national political watchdog. Avila joined the Ethics Commission’s enforcement staff six years ago and devoted considerable energy to educating politicians and city employees on how to avoid behavior that violates city lobbying, campaign finance and conflict-of-interest ordinances.

Avila is widely regarded as fair and friendly. Yet, say colleagues, she is a woman with a no-nonsense attitude, unafraid to make controversial decisions and ready to fight against those who would weaken the commission.

Avila’s appointment will help to restore confidence in the watchdog body, but it will not dispel all the doubts that have arisen concerning the commission’s independence. Those doubts have stemmed mostly from the awkward fashion in which Ethics Commission President Raquelle de la Rocha, an appointee of Mayor Richard Riordan, handled Bycel’s dismissal.

Now, city officials--the mayor, City Council members and even the five ethics commissioners--should be aware that a spotlight will be trained on any attempt to stifle the commission’s enforcement powers. Angelenos will expect the commission’s staff of 16, which operates on an annual budget of about $1.1 million, to build on successes like its money-laundering investigation of Evergreen America Inc., which resulted in the shipping firm being fined $865,000. And they will expect Avila’s staff to resist efforts of bigger agencies, like the state Fair Political Practices Commission, to pull rank. The Ethics Commission’s turf is Los Angeles city government, a very big field for a small agency but one that should feel the pressure of public demand that political ethics always be on a high plane.