So What’s Next? King?

The title was good enough for Chairman Mao but apparently isn’t good enough for Chairman Mike. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week tentatively approved a proposal by Chairman Mike Antonovich to change the rotating, honorary title to mayor--a switch that supporters claim would better describe the office and its ceremonial duties.

The supervisors fret that no one really understands what they do, and they think that giving the chairman a new, more familiar title would help.

Hardly. The problem is that most people understand all too well what the board does. The time spent on the name swap only makes it obvious. As easy as it is to poke fun at the pretentious airs of the board, the name change raises more serious questions about amending the county charter, in which the title and duties of chairman are spelled out.

Changes to the charter generally require a vote of the people, but county lawyers found a way to avoid it--essentially allowing the board to fiddle with the charter by imperial fiat. It’s easy to see why the board avoided a ballot by the county’s electorate. Voters would probably pick a title not nearly as flattering as mayor, chairman or even supervisor.