Riordan Wants Citizens Panel Created to Push Charter Reform

Calling the city he heads inaccessible and dysfunctional, Mayor Richard Riordan on Thursday announced his support for the creation of a citizens panel that would draft government reform measures independently of the City Council.

Riordan, a multimillionaire businessman turned politician, also vowed to help bankroll a signature-gathering drive asking voters to approve the formation of a citizens panel with the power to place reform measures directly on the ballot.

“City government has become inaccessible and unresponsive to the needs of Angelenos,” he said at a news conference on the steps of City Hall. “Good people are trapped in a dysfunctional system.”

Even though he is the city’s top elected official, Riordan said that power in City Hall is so diffuse that no one can make significant changes or be held responsible.

Riordan and his supporters said that true reform must come from a citizens panel that works independently of the council, which they fear would taint the process and block any proposals to erode its own power.

The mayor’s announcement, which has been anticipated for days, drew immediate criticism from Councilman Nate Holden, who called Riordan’s reform movement a scheme to gain “autocratic” power of the city.

“He’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing asking you to turn Los Angeles over to him,” Holden said in an impromptu news conference after the mayor’s announcement. “He won’t be happy until he has everything.”

But Riordan rejected Holden’s assertions, saying that even if he wins a second term, he will probably be out of office before any changes take effect.

In making the announcement, Riordan joins a growing call to reform the 71-year-old city charter, an 800-page document that acts as the blueprint for the city’s governing system.

Supporters see charter reform as an alternative to the secession threats coming from San Fernando Valley residents who complain that the city has become too big and unresponsive.

Some backers have suggested rewriting the charter to give local communities the power to make decisions on local public projects or planning issues, for example.

But in an indication that a rift with the council lies ahead, other council members also expressed skepticism about Riordan’s motives and about the legality of placing charter reform ideas on the ballot without the council’s approval.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a longtime Riordan critic, said he is also leery of Riordan’s motives but stopped short of criticizing the effort, saying he wants to study it further.

Francine Oschin, deputy to Councilman Hal Bernson, said, “This may be an issue that winds up in court forever.”

In an impassioned speech, Holden said a citizens panel is not needed because the council represents the people and is in the best position to reform government.

“We are the watchdogs for the city of Los Angeles,” Holden said. “We represent the little people of Los Angeles.”

But the issue has already become so divisive that even reform backers disagree on how best to get fundamental changes before the voters.

Last month, Councilman Mike Feuer joined forces with David Fleming, a Valley business leader and head of the city’s Fire Commission, to call for the formation of an appointed citizens commission to draft charter reform measures.

Under that plan, the council would have the power to revise, reject or approve the reform measures before putting them on the ballot.

But last week, Fleming broke ranks with Feuer, saying he believed true reform can only come from an independent citizens panel whose work can go directly on the ballot without revisions by the council.

Fleming, who chairs the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, joined dozens of other Valley business leaders to announce plans to collect more than 350,000 signatures on a petition asking voters to create a citizens panel with the power to put reform ideas directly on the ballot.

The group sent a letter to Riordan, asking him to back its effort. If successful, the measure would be on the April 1997 ballot.

Fleming and seven other business and community leaders joined Riordan at the news conference to announce their support. They included Joel Fox, president of the Howard Javis Taxpayers Assn., Lorri Jean, executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, and Celes King III, president of the Congress of Racial Equality.

In an interview, Feuer said he would not rule out working with Fleming and Riordan to adopt reform measures but believes the process would be quicker and cheaper with council participation.

Riordan said he is not sure how much he will spend to support the petition drive, but Fleming has said that the drive may cost up to $800,000.