RESISTANCE WEAKENS TO CHARTER VOTE : 3 COUNCIL MEMBERS TO QUIT BALLOT BATTLE.Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer With a showdown looming over Mayor Richard Riordan's charter reform initiative, City Council members Laura Chick, Mike Feuer and Richard Alatorre Richard Alatorre is a politician, and a member of the Democratic Party. Alatorre has served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council. He was the first Latino to serve on the council in 23 years. indicated Monday that they will drop opposition to placing the measure on the April ballot. ``I think it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to end the bickering bick·er intr.v. bick·ered, bick·er·ing, bick·ers 1. To engage in a petty, bad-tempered quarrel; squabble. See Synonyms at argue. 2. over the process of charter reform,'' Feuer announced to reporters at City Hall. ``I think it's important for us to focus on the substantive issues regarding how the city should be run in the future.'' Feuer, Chick, Alatorre and Richard Alarcon voted with the majority Nov. 8 to ``vigorously'' contest a lawsuit by Riordan seeking to put the measure on the April ballot. But the mayor prevailed in court with the ruling of U.S. 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. setting a deadline for today for the city to comply with her order to place the initiative on the April ballot. The Dec. 26 ruling also said that the charter reform commission should be elected by district, not at-large, to comply with the federal Voting Right Voting Right The right of a stockholder to vote on matters of corporate policy as well as on who is to compose the board of directors. Notes: Most voting involves decisions on issuing securities, initiating stock splits, and making substantial changes in the corporation's Act prohibition on diluting the vote of minorities. But the council balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. Friday at putting the initiative on the ballot, and put the matter over until today. Still, some council members are saying that the initiative calls for a ``citywide'' election, which they believe is inconsistent with the judge's call for an election by district. ``I think the remaining legal issues are substantial and need to be responded to,'' said Councilwoman Rita Walters Rita Walters (1930-) is currently the commissioner of the Los Angeles Public Library. Prior to this position, she served on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 9th district. During that time, she chaired the Arts, Health & Humanities Committee. . Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg Jackie Goldberg (born June 16, 1937) is an American politician and teacher, and a member of the Democratic Party. She is a former member of the California State Assembly. also said she wants the council to direct its attorneys to go back to court to invalidate the petitions over the ``citywide'' reference. ``I am not going to participate in voter fraud,'' she said. Pressure has been mounting on council members to cease their efforts to obstruct the initiative, which was submitted with 304,000 signatures in support and has been certified by the 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". . The Valley Industry and Commerce Association sent a strongly worded letter to 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. council members Monday, urging them to vote today to put the initiative to the voters April 8 and ``discontinue further efforts to frustrate or delay'' the measure. ``The fundamentals of democracy and simple fairness dictate that you and your fellow council members respect the right of the citizens of this city to vote on this very important matter,'' wrote Marvin R. Selter, VICA's board chairman. Chick said several council members discussed the stalemate over the weekend and concluded that it was distracting from the real issues of charter reform, which could be debated on their merits before the election. ``Clearly, it's time to just go ahead and put this on the ballot,'' Chick said. ``I think there's a growing feeling that whatever the differences and emotional feelings people have, that the proper arena to discuss this is through the election.'' On Friday, Alarcon joined Councilman Joel Wachs Joel Wachs served for several terms as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 2nd district. He was first elected by defeating incumbent James B. Potter. While in office, Wachs chaired the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Environmental Quality & Waste Management in urging that the measure be placed on the ballot in April, despite lingering questions about the legality of putting the measure to the voters. Voter approval of the initiative would create a 15-member, elected charter reform commission with power to put reforms directly on the ballot in 1999 without council revision. The City Council has created its own 21-member Charter Reform Commission, which met in November, but which must submit its recommendations to the City Council ultimately for approval. Council members have branded the mayor's initiative as a power grab. But supporters of the initiative said the council has no choice but to put the measure on the ballot today. It remained unclear Monday whether there are enough votes in council to put the mayor's initiative on the ballot. Walters and others said they may need more clarification of what Pfaelzer wants them to do with the conflicting legal issues. Councilman Marvin Braude said he supports putting the measure on the April ballot as long as legal issues are resolved. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion