June 8: Empowerment Versus the Status Quo

Our current charter was passed in 1925, when Los Angeles’ population was a fraction of what it is today. Now we are the second largest city in the United States.

As we approach the new century, our city faces demands and challenges never imagined 75 years ago, ones this antiquated charter could never address.

Created during a simpler time when there were rotary phones, silent films and few automobiles, the charter has been amended 400 times and is 700 pages long. Compare that to the streamlined eight pages of the U.S. Constitution and what you have is an arcane and complex document with a century’s worth of bureaucracy. That is hardly a recipe for efficient government.

Many San Fernando Valley residents are discouraged because they believe they do not have a voice in the way the city is run, and they do not know whom to hold accountable when things go wrong--or even credit when things go well.

I understand their frustration. Time and again, I encounter examples of bureaucratic snafus and obstacles, which is why when I was elected six years ago I made charter reform one of my foremost goals. I believe the answer for a better quality of life in the Valley or elsewhere in the city is charter reform.

On June 8, we will reach a crossroads in our journey toward a government that truly serves the people of Los Angeles. Residents will have the opportunity to vote for a new city constitution to guide our city in the 21st century.

The new charter would make city government more flexible, accountable and responsive to the people of Los Angeles and give our elected officials the tools they need to do their jobs.

Valley residents would benefit from charter reform in several specific ways. First, the new charter clarifies the responsibilities of our city officials so the public knows whom to hold accountable.

Currently, the mayor competes with the City Council for executive power. The new city charter would create a legislative and an executive branch of government, establishing a true balance of power between those two branches.

By strengthening the mayor’s managerial authority over city departments, he or she would have the authority to remove general managers when they were not performing in the best interest of the city and the taxpayers.

And the proposed charter would focus the City Council on legislative policy, taking it out of the business of micromanaging city department operations. Additionally, the proposed charter would establish the City Council as the city’s legislative and oversight authority and give the city controller more power to uncover waste and fraud in city expenditures.

Another benefit of the new charter is that it would make it easier for residents to appeal local land-use decisions and would speed the process by setting up five area planning commissions with authority over local land-use permits. These commissions would consist of people who reside in the regions they served. This would ensure that Valley residents had greater local control on planning, land-use and zoning issues. The Valley, for example, would have its own planning commission.

Finally, charter reform would strengthen the voice of our communities in city government through neighborhood councils. The new charter would make city government more accountable to these councils and, by design, would create a dialogue between community members and the city government. And when you strengthen the community voice, you influence policy. Specifically, the charter mandates that neighborhood councils monitor city services, receive notification of all proposed action by the City Council, boards and commissions, participate in the budget process and receive resources and staff to communicate with stakeholders and other neighborhood councils.

The new City Charter would transform a dysfunctional form of government into one that worked for the people of the Valley and for all the people of the city. It would cut bureaucratic red tape so the city could deliver services to residents more effectively. And it would support accountability for elected leaders, insist on a true balance of power and encourage leadership and vision.

Supporters of the proposed charter include the League of Women Voters, Valley homeowner leaders Richard Close and Tony Lucente, Valley United Chambers of Commerce, Valley cityhood leaders David Fleming and Bert Boeckmann and a diverse group of other civic and community leaders.

I hope you will join us and vote for charter reform. The future of our city is at stake. We can either move forward with a city constitution that empowers residents or face the new century with the same rules and regulations that keep our city from reaching its full potential. The choice is yours: reform or status quo. On June 8, vote yes on Charter Measure 1.