Bid to Reform Charter May Have Failed

Mayor Richard Riordan’s controversial petition drive to create a government reform panel--which he backed with his political clout and personal wealth--appears to have failed to qualify for the April ballot based on a sample of signatures.

In a bizarre twist, however, the city clerk declined to make an official ruling on the matter Friday, pending legal advice over what rules would be used to count the signatures.

The petition--which was launched in response to threats of a San Fernando Valley secession--asks voters to create an elected panel to rewrite the 71-year-old charter, which acts as the city’s constitution and has been criticized as being outdated.

If the city clerk decides that the measure did not qualify based on a random sample of signatures, state law requires election officials to verify at least 197,000 of the 304,000 signatures submitted by Riordan and his supporters--an expensive and time-consuming task that could keep the measure from qualifying for the April ballot.

It is crucial for Riordan to get the measure on the April ballot because it would allow him to incorporate the measure into his own election campaign for a second mayoral term.

Timing is critical as well because the City Council, which sees Riordan’s efforts as a political power grab, has its own reform panel. A delay would give the council’s panel time to establish itself and make it difficult for Riordan to justify a second committee.

Seventy percent of a random sample of the signatures submitted were found valid, but 71% is needed to qualify.

Under city election rules, the city throws out all signatures gathered by petition circulators who are not registered to vote in the city.

But Riordan supporters argue that the petition is governed by state law and therefore the city rules don’t apply. State rules allow the disputed signatures to be counted.

According to an election report released Friday, 419 signatures were gathered by petition circulators who were not registered to vote in the city. The petition fell 57 signatures short of qualifying based on the random sample. If the 419 signatures are counted, the petition would qualify.

City Clerk J. Mike Carey said that in past petitions, the city has operated on its own election rules and has thrown out such signatures. But he declined to rule on Riordan’s petition pending an opinion from the city attorney that is expected to come next week.

Carey conceded that whatever the decision, the petition’s fate will probably be decided in a courtroom.

Riordan supporters immediately criticized election officials, suggesting that they are working to kill the reform effort.

“Clearly what we are faced with is a bureaucracy that doesn’t want change,” said David Fleming, a Studio City attorney who teamed up with Riordan to launch the petition drive.

Councilman Mike Hernandez, an ardent critic of Riordan’s reform effort, fired back, saying the request to use state rules “shows how desperate they are to get their way.”

He also chided Riordan for hiring a professional signature-gathering firm to circulate the petition.

“That is what happens when you have bounty hunters collecting signatures,” he said.

Riordan launched the petition drive to create an elected panel, arguing that only a panel free from council influence can have the independence to propose true reform. His panel would have the power to put reform measures directly on the ballot.

But council members contend that as representatives of the people, they should play an integral role in reform efforts. The panel that the council created only has advisory power, and the council reserves the right to put reform measures on the ballot.

In an indication of how divisive the struggle between the mayor and the council has become, Riordan sued the council to clear up legal issues about when and how the election will take place.

In response, the council instructed the city attorney to fight the suit. A federal judge is expected to hear the matter Tuesday.

Riordan--a former venture capitalist with personal wealth of about $100 million--funded the $400,000 petition drive out of his own pocket, saying the city’s governing charter is out of date and needs a complete overhaul.

If Riordan’s measure appears on the ballot, a second measure will include a list of candidates for a 15-member citizens panel to rewrite the charter.

The campaign needs 197,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, but Riordan and his supporters submitted an extra 107,000 to make up for invalid or duplicate signatures.