ELECTED PANEL SET TO VOTE ON CHARTER PLAN; MAYOR TO URGE COMMISSIONERS TO AVOID COMPROMISE PROPOSAL.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer Amid intense lobbying and maneuvering, Los Angeles' elected Charter Reform Commission today is to consider whether to stay with its own far-reaching proposal or adopt a compromise plan being sold as having the best chance of success with voters in June. 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. , who organized the drive to create the 15-member panel, is expected to appeal to the commissioners to keep their own work and abandon a unified approach developed by elected commission Chairman Erwin Chemerinsky Erwin Chemerinsky (born 1953) is a well-known professor of Constitutional law and federal civil procedure, has recently accepted a position at the University of California, Irvine, in the new Donald Bren School of Law, beginning in 2009. and appointed commission Chairman George Kieffer. ``The mayor still believes the people 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. elected a commission to reform the charter and that's what he hopes will be the outcome of the meeting,'' Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez said. ``He wants democracy to prevail and the public voices to be heard.'' Today's vote is considered one of the most important decisions the panel will make, since any final charter reform package it develops goes directly on the ballot. It comes a day before the 21-member appointed panel is asked to take the same action to submit the unified proposal to the City Council. ``I think this could be the most decisive vote if there is to be charter reform,'' Chemerinsky said. ``If we accept the proposal for a unified charter, the odds are overwhelming it will be adopted.'' Chemerinsky said he is unsure how the commission will vote, but he knows Riordan has been active in calling members to urge them to reject the compromise proposal. ``I know we've talked, so I'm sure he's calling other members as well,'' Chemerinsky said. Riordan favors the elected panel's recommendation that he be allowed to fire general managers without City Council oversight. He opposes the compromise plan that gives the council veto veto [Lat.,=I forbid], power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or entered into by the other functionaries or members. In the U.S. power over termination of general managers. The compromise plan's proposal on curbing the mayor's power to fire department heads received a boost Monday with the release of a public opinion survey showing wide support from some sort of check on the mayor's power. The survey of 600 people considered likely voters showed 56 percent favored the compromise proposal giving the council some veto authority. ``Clearly, the public supports continuing the balance of power, checks and balances system that makes Los Angeles unique,'' said Julie Butcher, general manager of the Service Employees International Union, Local 347. Riordan has urged commissioners to hang tough with their proposal while, on the other side, some council members and union leaders have been organizing forces to back the compromise proposal. 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. wrote both commissions promising to win council approval for the consensus charter and has been counting votes on the elected panel to see if it has a chance of success. Also, over the course of the past week, City Attorney James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California and Controller Rick Tuttle Rick Tuttle (born 1940) was Los Angeles City Controller from 1985 to 2001. He stressed the importance of creating a strong democratic influence at UCLA, which was in his words "the best large public university in a major city. have backed the compromise proposal as has the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. ``I agree with those who believe the presentation of a compromise charter reform package in June of 1999 . . . is the best way to overcome voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. doubts about change,'' Tuttle said in a letter to both commissions. The Los Angeles Business Advisors - a group of 25 corporate leaders in the city - also has indicated it would back the consensus proposal even though it has yet to take an official vote. Riordan, in the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , is expected to remind commissioners that the panel's creation came out of the cry for secession secession, in art secession, in art, any of several associations of progressive artists, especially those in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna, who withdrew from the established academic societies or exhibitions. from 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. and only true reform stands a chance of blocking the cityhood effort. Some elected commissioners have expressed some reservations about the compromise and what it has left out of their proposal. Commissioner Bennett Kayser said his greatest concern is the lack of an ability for voters to decide if there should be elected neighborhood councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. . Kayser said he would be submitting a proposal that as a condition for approving the compromise plan, voters would be allowed to vote on a separate measure creating the elected neighborhood councils. ``I think one of the most important things the elected commission did was to allow a vote on this,'' Kayser said. ``I think it's a key point to have meaningful reform.'' Even if such a proposal is rejected by the appointed commission and the City Council, Chemerinsky said the elected panel could decide to put the matter before voters. ``Because we were elected, we can put anything we want directly on the ballot,'' Chemerinsky said. |
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