Riordan, Council Abandon Effort to Unite on Charter

Mayor Richard Riordan and the Los Angeles City Council have broken off attempts to unite behind a single government reform plan, setting the stage for the creation of two competing efforts vying for public support.

Riordan aides and key council members said Friday that weeks of negotiations to unify behind a single citizens group that would recommend reforms have failed due to disputes over how much authority the group would have.

Because of the dispute, Riordan and Studio City attorney David Fleming will continue to pursue a petition drive to create an elected panel while the council will soon wrap up the creation of an appointed panel.

Both panels will consider rewriting the 71-year-old governing charter that many officials agree is too antiquated to address the problems of a large, modern city.

The reform movement--the most recent of several attempts in the past 20 years--has been fueled by threats of the San Fernando Valley seceding.

Councilman Mike Feuer, a leading supporter of charter reform, said he has tried to get both sides to endorse the creation of one group, to no avail.

“I have talked to my colleagues and the mayor and the odds [of a compromise] are slim,” he said. “It poorly serves the people of Los Angeles to have reform move on two tracks, because the focus turns to the debate between the mayor and the council.”

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Council President John Ferraro, who also attempted to broker a compromise, said there have been no recent talks aimed at reaching an agreement.

At the crux of the dispute is the question of how much authority to give the panel. Last month, the council voted to create a 21-member appointed panel to propose charter reform measures. Under that plan, the council would have final say on any idea before it could be put on the ballot for voter approval.

But Riordan and Fleming, a Valley activist and business leader, have argued that true reform can come only from a panel that is independent of the council. If their petition drive is successful, voters would be asked to create a 15-member panel with the authority to put reform ideas directly on the ballot.

A compromise has also become more unlikely as both sides continue to make progress in forming the separate panels.

As of this week, a Riordan-funded petition drive has collected more than 155,000 of the 197,000 signatures needed to qualify for the April 1997 ballot.

Meanwhile, the reform panel backed by the council is close to being formed. So far, the appointments include UCLA political scientist Xandra Kayden; former County Supervisor Ed Edelman; NAACP leader Jose De Sosa; Linda Griego, president of RLA, formerly Rebuild LA; UCLA Vice Chancellor Joseph Mandel, and community leader Sharon Schuster.

Under the council plan, the council members, the city attorney and the city controller can each make one appointment to the panel. Ferraro is allowed two appointments and Riordan gets three.

As of Friday, Ferraro and Riordan had yet to make their appointments. Riordan officials have said that the mayor is not likely to make appointments to the council panel because of his support for his competing plan.

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Meanwhile, Riordan’s campaign hit a snag this week, when Assistant City Atty. Tony Alperin issued a legal opinion that raises questions about the legality of a citywide vote to elect members of the charter reform panel.

Alperin said further studies were needed to determine whether a citywide vote violates federal election laws by diluting the votes of minorities. The problem could be resolved if each candidate for the panel were elected by councilmanic district. But it is unclear whether such a change can be made at this point.

Riordan and City Atty. James K. Hahn met Thursday to try to resolve the legal questions, but no final decisions were reached.