Anatomy of Bond Defeat

It was the best-planned public safety bond issue in city history. So why did it suffer the worst defeat of any L.A.police-related bond issue in the last 14 years? The answer lies in the four City Council districts that are entirely in the San Fernando Valley.

A 52.5% majority in the all-Valley districts opposed the bond issue, and that was enough to tilt the scales. In the other 11 council districts, the vote was 66.9% in favor, just above the two-thirds majority needed.

It’s been suggested that Valley voters did not want the city to tackle big projects while possible Valley secession was studied. Well, any decision on secession could be three years away. It makes no sense to put citywide problems on hold until then.

The defeat, however, can’t be tied solely to the vote in the Valley. It would have taken an average of fewer than 1,200 voters in each of the city’s other 11 council districts to pass the bond issue in this low-turnout election. Where was the support?

Though the two-thirds majority threshold is indeed onerous, it hasn’t stopped library bonds, which tend to pass with ease, in part because libraries have a track record of delivering on promises. City residents are more likely to be familiar with their conditions. People show up at police stations mostly when they are traumatized crime victims or accompanying one. At such times they’re not likely to notice whether the place is overcrowded or has safety code violations.

Bonds for fire and rescue services alone are also likely to pass, as the publicity for such needs is abundant. Who hasn’t seen countless cases in the media of wildfire fighting and rescues? The connection of voters to police, particularly in an era of sharp declines in crime, is much rarer.

Three times, in 1981, 1985 and 1992, then-Mayor Tom Bradley went to the voters for a property tax increase to hire more cops for the woefully small LAPD. The only time the effort didn’t fail miserably was in 1992 after the devastating riots here, and the vote then was still short of the needed two-thirds.

There were only two breakthrough bond votes in the last 18 years. One was a 68.7% vote in favor of new police facilities in 1989 and a riot-fueled 77% vote for an improved emergency communications system in 1992. In the first, nearly one-third of the promised projects weren’t built because the money ran out. The emergency communications system has suffered massive delays. Skeptical voters had offered two clear opportunities and were sorely disappointed both times.

Next time around, a smaller bond issue would be advisable. And maybe a campaign to bring citizens to local police stations to see the poor conditions there. Voters also need even more assurance that projects will be completed on time and on budget. Last, it’s up to elected officials citywide to quash the notion that all public infrastructure matters are moot until secession is decided. Residents citywide will suffer if that kind of thinking takes root.