CHARTER EFFORT BALLOTBOUND : RULING SENDS MAYOR'S CALL FOR INDEPENDENT PANEL TO VOTERS.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer Handing Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. a major victory Thursday, a federal court judge ordered the City Council to place the mayor's initiative for an independently elected charter reform commission on the April 8 ballot. Federal District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer Mariana Pfaelzer is a U.S. District Court Judge in the Ninth Circuit. She is probably best remembered for her role in striking down California's Proposition 187, which would have denied services to illegal aliens. also agreed with Riordan's argument that the 15-member panel should not be elected at large, although she left it up to the City Council whether the commission members should be elected from each of the 15 council districts. The judge ordered the parties to return to her court Jan. 7 to report on the method for election of charter reform commissioners that complies with the federal Voting Rights Act Voting Rights Act Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to ensure the voting rights of African Americans. Though the Constitution's 15th Amendment (passed 1870) had guaranteed the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” by ensuring that minority voters will not be disenfranchised. With the City Council's appointed Charter Reform Commission already at work, the federal court ruling sets the stage for a major debate on the best way to reform the city's 71-year-old charter - a debate that will culminate at the April election when the mayor and more than half of the City Council seats will be on the ballot. Riordan, who has spent $400,000 of his own money on the initiative campaign, issued a statement praising the ruling and calling on the council to make a prompt decision to have the commissioners elected by council district. ``Angelenos are comfortable with our existing council districts, and that's how they should get to vote,'' Riordan said. ``The ball is now in the City Council's court. I trust they will make the right decision.'' If the voters approve the initiative and elect a charter reform commission, there will be two reform commissions at work - the City Council's, which must submit its recommendations for council approval, and the elected commission with the power to submit charter reforms directly to the voters. Councilman Nate Holden Nathaniel "Nate" R. Holden (1929-) served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1987 to 2002. He previously served a term on the California State Senate and was Assistant Chief Deputy to then Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. , who has opposed the independent panel, said he will seek to have the council fight Pfaelzer's ruling or come up with a counterproposal coun·ter·pro·pos·al n. A proposal offered to nullify or substitute for a previous one. Noun 1. counterproposal - a proposal offered as an alternative to an earlier proposal . ``I'm meeting with my attorneys and one option is to appeal this ruling,'' Holden said. ``If we can't do that, I'm thinking of developing a measure that would ask the voters whether they want this commission or the one that's already working.'' David Fleming
David Fleming , a co-sponsor of the charter drive, said any new effort by the council to try to stall the effort would not be well-received by the public. ``We are talking about a panel that will submit something directly to the voters,'' Fleming said. ``What's the harm in that? The council will have its own plan. Let the voters decide. At some point, when they keep fighting this, you have to wonder what they have to hide.'' The mayor's and the council's efforts at charter reform grew out of the debate this past year over whether the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. should be given the right to secede se·cede intr.v. se·ced·ed, se·ced·ing, se·cedes To withdraw formally from membership in an organization, association, or alliance. [Latin s without a City Council veto. Charter reform was suggested as an alternative way to empower neighborhoods and improve how city government responds to the changing needs of the city. Holden said he was concerned with the timing of the court ruling and whether it would give people interested in serving on the elected panel enough time to put together a campaign. The period in which candidates can declare intentions to run will begin Jan. 8, with nominating petitions to be circulated beginning Jan. 13. State Sen. Tom Hayden Thomas Emmett "Tom" Hayden (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. , D-Los Angeles, who has been considering running against Riordan, said he was concerned about how the issue had become politicized. ``I think this is an election campaign tactic by Mayor Riordan and his advisers to appear to be in favor of reform,'' Hayden said. ``I was told directly that he was trying to take the issue of reform away from me if I run,'' he said. ``This is like King George King George has referred to many kings throughout history. When used, by Americans, without further reference it most often means George III of the United Kingdom, against whom the Whigs of the American Revolution rebelled. trying to reform the colonies by using a British war chest to pay for a constitutional convention.'' Hayden said he had no plans to field his own slate of candidates, but that he would support the effort of Common Cause and homeowner groups to back individuals for the panel. ``If this sets the stage for something that goes beyond the 1997 election and a debate on the future of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , it could be beneficial,'' Hayden said. Pfaelzer's ruling comes nearly a week after acting City Clerk In the United States, a City Clerk is an elected or appointed official who is responsible as the official keeper of the municipal records. In some places, the Clerk may be known as the "Village Clerk" or "Town Clerk". Mike Carey certified the petitions submitted by Riordan's Committee to Turn L.A. Around, which served as sponsor of the drive. The mayor had asked the court to overturn provisions of the state elections code that the city attorney has said appear to require an at-large election. Lawyers for the mayor argued that an at-large election would violate the federal Voting Rights Act. In her ruling, Pfaelzer found there were grounds that the at-large requirement would violate the rights of Latinos living in the city by giving an undue advantage to white voters. She did not find the same for African-Americans after the city had argued that former Mayor Tom Bradley Noun 1. Tom Bradley - United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998) Bradley, Thomas Bradley won five citywide elections. Her detailed memo on the findings will not be available until next week. Attorneys for Riordan, however, said the provision dealing with Latinos went far enough to guarantee protection for all minorities if the election is held based on City Council districts. Placing the measure on the April ballot will make it coincide not only with the elections for mayor and the eight odd-number districts, but also the city attorney and city controller. Opposing sides release arguments for, against measure While both sides in the battle over creating an independent elected charter reform commission agree that the 71-year-old document needs a rewrite, they differ sharply over how to accomplish reform. In ballot arguments released Thursday, Mayor Richard Riordan, Studio City attorney David Fleming and their supporters say the job should go to an elected commission with the power to submit reforms directly to the voters. Arguing against the initiative, City Council President John Ferraro John Ferraro (May 14 1924—April 17 2001) served as a Los Angeles City Councilman from 1966 until his death. Early life Ferraro was born in the working class suburb of Cudahy, California, just south of Los Angeles. , former Mayor Tom Bradley and their supporters counter that charter reform should remain in the hands of the elected council members and their appointed 21-member reform commission. Here are the texts of both arguments as released by each side. The text does not include the number of the ballot measure because it hasn't been assigned one yet. Vote YES on Proposition -- For An Elected Citizen Commission to Propose City Government Reform. We in Los Angeles need to look carefully at major changes in the way our city government operates. Our frustration with ineffective government, wasted taxpayer money and the lack of accountability needs to be addressed. The outdated, bureaucratic City Charter is a huge problem. When you look at our city's charter, it is no wonder our city government is distant, inefficient and wasteful. Passed in 1925, the charter has been changed over the years with a hodgepodge hodge·podge n. A mixture of dissimilar ingredients; a jumble. [Alteration of Middle English hochepot, from Old French, stew; see hotchpot. of over 400 different amendments. It's now over 700 pages long, filled with poorly written and outdated provisions . . . a 125,000-word spider web of tangled legal phrases and bureaucratic rules that need to be evaluated and reformed. Proposition -- will put control of the charter reform process in the hands of an independent elected citizen commission and the voters. A Yes vote for Proposition -- is a vote to: Establish an elected citizen City Charter Revision Commission. Direct this elected commission to place the recommended changes directly on the ballot for a Yes or No vote by the people. Require commission members to serve without pay. A Yes vote on Proposition -- puts power to reform government where it belongs, with the people. Proposition -- keeps the voters in control of the process. After the elected citizen commission completes its work and makes its recommendations for reforming the 70-year-old charter, there will be another vote on the proposed reforms. Under Proposition --, we the people will have the right to approve or reject the recommendations of our elected citizen commission, without interference from the politicians. Join us in voting Yes on Proposition --, to establish a democratic process for better government and more efficient use of taxpayers' dollars. Signed by: Richard J. Riordan, mayor, City of Los Angeles
Daniel P. Garcia, past president, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Richard H. Close, president, Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. Christine M. Robert, Citizens to Turn L.A. Around (Charter Reform). David W. Fleming, chairman, Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. Helen Bernstein, immediate past president United Teachers-Los Angeles. Joel Fox, president, Howard Jarvis Howard Jarvis (September 22, 1903 - August 11, 1986) was born in Magna, Utah and died in Los Angeles, California. In Utah he had some political involvement working with his father's campaigns and his own. Taxpayer Association. Susan Estrich Susan Estrich (born Susan Estrich December 16 1952) is a lawyer, professor, author, political operative, feminist advocate and commentator for Fox News. Estrich grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts on Boston's North Shore. , professor of law, University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission . Bishop E. Lyon Brown, presiding bishop The Presiding Bishop is an ecclesiastical position in some denominations of Christianity. Anglican Anglican Church of New Zealand For a short period the style Presiding Bishop was used by the Anglican Church in New Zealand. , Ninth Episcopal District, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church The Christian Methodist Epsicopal Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Methodism. The group was organized in 1870 when several black ministers, with the full support of their white counterparts in the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, . Edward M. Davis Edward Michael Davis (November 15, 1916 – April 22, 2006) was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from (1969-1978), and later a California State Senator from (1981-1993) and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1986. , former Los Angeles police chief. Ballot Argument Against Measure -- The choice before voters is not ``Does Los Angeles need a modern City Charter.'' We all agree it does. The problem is Measure -- proposes to revise the City Charter in a risky, undemocratic manner. Vote no on Measure -- and the job of updating the charter will stay with the 21-member Ad Hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. Commission on Charter Reform, a representative, independent group of highly qualified people who reflect the city's geographic and ethnic diversity. The 21-member commission already has started to work on charter reform with the goal of eliminating waste, duplication and inefficiency in city government. At the conclusion of their objective, unbiased study - including public hearings on the subject held throughout the city - the Ad Hoc Commission on Charter Reform will present its recommendations to the City Council. After additional public hearings, the City Council will place the proposed City Charter revisions before the voters. That's the democratic way. This parallels the same process as other major reforms in Los Angeles, for example: the Christopher Commission In Los Angeles, the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission, was formed in July 1991, in the wake of the Rodney King beating, by then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. reforms of the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. and the ethics and campaign finance reforms Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. . Your No vote on Measure -- will permit the 21 commission members to complete the task they already have begun - to improve city government in Los Angeles. Your No vote on Measure -- will ensure that a democratic process will be used in preparing City Charter reform proposals to be placed before voters. Measure -- is a risky venture. It would entrust our City Charter into the hands of 15 strangers, with: No requirement they hold public hearings. No requirements for a majority vote for their election. No requirement they reflect the diversity of the city. No requirement they be accountable to the public. Under Measure -- there would be nothing to prohibit the 15 to draw virtually all their funding from a few special interests. And there would be nothing to prohibit them from proposing a City Charter that totally reflected those special interests' point of view. Tom Bradley, who presided over the emergence of Los Angeles as one of the great cities of the world during his 20 years as mayor, urges your No vote on Measure --. Measure -- is a risky, misguided proposal. Voters should not be fooled by a high-priced, misleading campaign. Those opposing Measure -- include a coalition of leaders who don't always agree on every issue. They include the leaders of the city's police and fire labor organizations; Ben Bycel, the former executive director of the city's Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. ; and retired U.S. Congressman Ed Roybal. Join them in voting no on Measure --. Signed by: John Ferraro, president, Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. .
Benjamin Bycel, attorney at law. Kenneth E. Buzzell, president, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City. Tom Bradley, former Los Angeles mayor. Edward R. Roybal Edward Ross (Ed) Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was an American politician. He served for thirty years as a Democratic representative of the 30th and later the 25th districts of California, and was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years. , former U.S. congressman. Rick Wells, acting president, Police Protective League. Gordon Murley, president, San Fernando Valley Federation. CAPTION(S): Box Box: Opposing sides release arguments for, against measure (See text) |
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