The L.A. City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to place a measure on the November ballot that could create an independent commission to redraw voting districts that reflect population changes in the city.
An independent commission was one of the key reform ideas resulting from the release of secretly recorded audio a year ago. The audio included City Council members discussing ways to preserve their power through a redistricting process currently controlled by the council.
Creating a new, independent panel would require an amendment to the city charter and, therefore, voter approval.
Much of the focus around the secret City Hall tapes was on racist and derogatory remarks made by then-council president, Nury Martinez, who later provided an exclusive interview to LAist that is featured on the podcast Imperfect Paradise: Nury & The Secret Tapes.
At the time, redistricting was at the heart of a conversation in 2021 among Martinez, councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and Ron Herrera, the powerful leader of the L.A. County Federation of Labor. The four were discussing how to draw council district boundaries in a way that would maintain their own power.
Martinez resigned from the council after the audio was released. Cedillo already had been voted out of office. Only De León remains on the council, despite calls for his resignation. He is running for reelection in the March primary.
Current City Council President Paul Krekorian said during a recent meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform, which crafted the proposal now before the council, that he supports the idea of an independent commission.
“I have committed to getting this on the 2024 ballot to destroy our current redistricting process and create truly independent…
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