Riordan Reform Panel Measure OKd for Ballot

After a week of political maneuvering and legal wrangling, Mayor Richard Riordan’s controversial initiative to create a governmental reform panel qualified for the ballot Friday.

City Clerk J. Michael Carey’s decision to certify the petition sets the stage for what is expected to be a divisive political battle between Riordan and council members who have their own reform effort and claim the mayor’s measure is a power grab.

If the measure appears on the April ballot, as expected, the debate over government reform is likely to be a central theme in the reelection campaigns of Riordan and a majority of the council.

The reform efforts were sparked by threats of a San Fernando Valley secession and complaints that City Hall is unresponsive to the citizens of Los Angeles.

Riordan--who backed the petition drive with his political clout and $400,000 of his own money--argues that an independent citizens panel is needed to overhaul what he believes is an outdated 71-year-old charter that acts as the city’s constitution.

“Today, we’ve finally cleared an important hurdle on the path to reform,” Riordan said. “Now, we must work together to ensure that all citizens be given a direct voice in reforming local government.”

But several Riordan critics on the council have already vowed to campaign against the measure.

“For him, charter reform is about concentrating power in the executive branch,” said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a vocal Riordan critic. “For others of us, it’s about how to make government more functional.”

The council has responded to Riordan’s efforts by creating a competing panel to recommend reform measures.

The key difference between the two panels is that the council has reserved the right to reject or rewrite the recommendations made by its appointees. Riordan’s elected panel would have the power to put reform measures directly on the ballot.

The council has argued that they represent the people and therefore should have the final say in what reform proposals go on the ballot.

But the political battle is likely to take attention away from reform efforts, thus making true reform unlikely, according to political analysts and others.

Half a dozen similar attempts to overhaul the city charter over the past 60 years have failed due in part to opposition from the council and city labor unions.

Riordan’s reform measure will ask voters to create a 15-member, elected panel to draft a new charter. If voters agree to create it, a second measure on the same ballot will ask voters to choose from a list of candidates for the panel.

The debate between Riordan and the council has centered on redrawing the lines of authority in City Hall.

Riordan’s aides have privately said that the mayor plans to support a slate of candidates, prompting council members to suggest that Riordan will endorse only supporters who will be intent on increasing his authority.

“I think I will be campaigning against it unless I see the mayor being more inclusive in who he wants to put on the panel,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez.

Councilman Joel Wachs, the only council member to support Riordan’s reform drive, rejected suggestions that the council should have the final say in what reform measures appear on the ballot.

“It’s an incredible attitude for someone to say they know better than the people,” he said.

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), who is expected to run against Riordan, also chimed in, saying that he plans to counter Riordan influence in the reform effort by backing his own slate of neighborhood representatives for the Riordan reform panel.

He echoed the criticism of some council members, saying, “I don’t like the mayor’s process because he is using money to buy power.”

Riordan has said that City Hall is dysfunctional because the charter disperses power among 40 commissions, the council and the mayor.

But the mayor dismissed criticism that he is launching a power grab, saying a new charter is not likely to be in place until the end of his second and last term in office, if he is reelected.

He claimed that his critics on the council are attacking the reform effort because they fear that voters will support reform measures that will reduce their power.

“It was Harry Truman who said no one has ever voted to give up power,” Riordan said.

He added that the petition has been signed by more than 304,000 voters, “so this is hardly my show.”

Riordan’s petition had been in limbo for days due to a dispute between Carey and county election officials over who is responsible for certifying the effort. Neither was willing to take the responsibility until the City Council ordered Carey to certify whether the petition qualifies.

The effort also has been plagued by other legal disputes.

The mayor and his supporters have sued, asking a federal judge to order the city to put the measure on the April ballot and to require members of the reform panel to be elected by district, instead of at large.

The lawsuit was filed in response to a city attorney memo that suggested the City Council can delay putting the measure on the ballot. The memo also said an at-large election could violate minority voting rights.

U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer is expected to rule on Riordan’s lawsuit Monday.

Getting the measure on the April ballot is crucial to Riordan because it would allow him to tie the measure in with his reelection campaign.

Timing is also crucial because any delay will give the council’s reform panel more time to establish itself, making it harder for Riordan to justify a second reform committee.