An L.A. City Council committee Thursday approved a proposal to create an independent redistricting commission, one of the reforms demanded by activists after the release of secretly recorded audio tapes a year ago that included council members discussing ways to preserve their own power.
The approval by the council’s Ad Hoc Committee On Governance Reform sends the proposal to the full city council, which will decide whether or not to place it before voters on the November 2024 ballot. The creation of an independent panel requires an amendment to the city charter and therefore voter approval. The proposal would create a separate commission to draw district boundaries for the L.A. Unified School District.
“I have committed to getting this on the 2024 ballot to destroy our current redistricting process and create truly independent redistricting,” said City Council President Paul Krekorian, who also chairs the ad hoc committee.
Much of the focus around the secret tapes was on racist and derogatory remarks by the council president at the time, Nury Martinez, who provided an exclusive interview to LAist that is featured on the podcast Imperfect Paradise: Nury & The Secret Tapes.
But redistricting was at the heart of a conversation among her, two other council members and the powerful leader of the L.A. County Federation of Labor at the time. The four were discussing how to draw council district boundaries in a way that would maintain their own power.
Details of the proposal
The proposal would take the power of redrawing districts out of the hands of the council.
Under the independent redistricting commission proposal, a 16-member panel…
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