Charter Reform

* Xandra Kayden is probably right when she says that the current efforts for charter reform “will come to naught” (Opinion, Oct. 6). She’s wrong in assuming that the problem lies on only one side of the field. It’s not only the Riordan team that is out of touch with the reality. The Los Angeles City Council, too, sees charter reform as nothing more than a turf war. The goal, from both sides, is not to serve the public; it’s to win.

When it comes to her understanding of open government laws, Kayden is dead wrong. She says that the Brown Act “severely limits the ability of council members, or any official body, to talk to each other in an environment conducive to consensus when there is conflict.” There is absolutely nothing in the Brown Act that prohibits a council member from talking to another council member. What they cannot do is make collective decisions in secret.

Open government and popular sovereignty are fundamental concepts of representative government. If the City Council, or the mayor, want charter reform, they shouldn’t start with the premise that it’s good to promote secret deal-making. Unless, of course, the end goal is to make sure that all the current charter reform efforts will come to naught.

BARBARA S. BLINDERMAN

Santa Monica