The political scandal that forced the resignations of the Los Angeles City Council president and a powerful labor leader has spurred several prominent local scholars to band together to figure out ways to reform city government, starting with the redistricting process.
Calling itself the L.A. Governance Reform Project, the group of six scholars has issued a statement saying it hopes in the coming months to present policymakers with recommendations for an independent redistricting process.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment in Los Angeles,” said Gary Segura, dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and co-chair of the Reform Project. “Interest in reform is high throughout the community.”
The group says it will seek input from the academic, governmental, civic, and activist communities. It also plans to set up a process for the general public to provide input, said Reform Project member Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.
The group intends to address other issues after redistricting, “including but not limited to council expansion, ethics, and land use reform,” according to its statement.
The secret recording and redistricting
The scandal grew out of the release of a secret recording of Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmember Kevin de León, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Ron Herrera, the head of the L.A. County Federation of Labor. Martinez and De León are heard making openly racist remarks and derogatory comments about colleagues. Cedillo and Herrera appear to go along.
The recording was made during a meeting in the fall of 2021 as the city was preparing to redraw the boundaries of each council district — a once-in-a-decade process that affects who is elected…
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