In November, Los Angeles voters will decide on a ballot measure aimed at enhancing the city’s ethics oversight following a series of scandals at City Hall.
However, watchdog groups expressed deep disappointment, arguing that the measure falls short. The City Council had diluted an initial proposal that included more extensive reforms, such as granting the volunteer Ethics Commission unilateral authority to place items on the ballot.
The council unanimously approved the current measure on Tuesday, which raises penalties for breaches of the city’s ethics code from $5,000 to $15,000. The commission’s department will receive a minimum annual budget of $6.5 million, slightly higher than the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Additionally, a new Charter Reform Commission will be established to review the entire city charter.
California Common Cause, a good-government organization, labeled the measure “disheartening.”
“The Los Angeles City Council had an opportunity to combat corruption at City Hall and begin a new era of trust for L.A. residents in their local officials,” said Jonathan Mehta Stein, the group’s executive director. “Instead, they chose to maintain a flawed, shameful status quo.”
The ethics department’s budget requires City Council approval, despite the department often investigating council members. The department enforces the city’s lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance regulations, while the Ethics Commission sets policies and votes on proposed penalties.
In January, former Councilmember Jose Huizar received a 13-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in various criminal schemes, including accepting bribes from developers in the form of cash payouts and casino chips at Las Vegas hotels.
Another ex-councilmember, Mitchell Englander, pleaded guilty in 2020 to misleading investigators after FBI agents questioned him about his 2017 Vegas trip, where he received cash in a casino bathroom.
Councilmember Curren Price was charged with embezzlement, perjury, and conflict of interest by L.A. County prosecutors last June, although he has consistently maintained his innocence.
Price’s colleague, Kevin de León, was implicated in a secretly recorded conversation containing vulgar and racist remarks, leading to Council President Nury Martinez’s resignation and prolonged protests demanding De León’s resignation.
Ron Herrera, then-president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, also resigned after being part of the conversation.
A labor federation-backed group supported the watered-down ethics measure. In a letter to council members, the group argued that certain proposals would “erode a system of checks and balances” at City Hall. They contended that adding more members to the Ethics Commission without council approval would create “a quasi-separate government agency accountable to no one.”
Following the council’s vote for the union-supported version of the measure, which excluded an expanded volunteer panel, county Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler and union leaders were seen celebrating in the rotunda, according to a video posted on X.
City Council President Paul Krekorian and others have been seeking ways to strengthen the commission’s power for several years. Krekorian, now chair of the Ad Hoc Committee of Government Reform, which was formed after the De León recording surfaced in October 2022, called the council’s actions a “huge step forward” in reforming city government.
Krekorian and Councilmember Nithya Raman, vice chair of the government reform committee, voted against proposed amendments supported by labor groups that were included in the final ballot measure. These amendments were submitted by Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Tim McOsker, with Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Eunisses Hernandez seconding.
