Good morning and welcome to LA on the Record, our City Hall newsletter, where David Zarniser brings you the latest trials and tribulations of city and county government.

The big news coming out of Los Angeles County government over the past month has been a plan to expand the county Board of Supervisors, dividing political allies and generating heated debate in Executive Hall of Kenneth Hahn.

The proposal, along with several other reforms to county government, will be on the Nov. 5 ballot but has drawn criticism from some on the commission, who cautioned that the cost is still unknown.

Critics say the proposal to expand the commission from five to nine members has an add-on that could be attractive to voters: the creation of a new ethics committee tasked with rooting out wrongdoing.

supervisor Lindsay HolbertA co-author of the proposal, she described it as a “once-in-a-century ethics reform” and argued that, given recent events, the creation of an ethics watchdog was long overdue.

Last year, former director Mark Ridley Thomas He was convicted of corruption in connection with the county's voting system (a conviction currently under appeal). Armand Gabai He was sentenced to four years in prison for bribery. Thomas M. SheposAlso convicted was Shepos, a senior official in the county's real estate department.

Additionally, there have been numerous criminal cases targeting Los Angeles City Hall that have resulted in the convictions of two former City Council members, one deputy mayor, one former city commissioner, and several others.

Holbert said stricter enforcement of laws regulating campaign fundraising, lobbying and conflicts of interest would help restore public trust, and he also pushed back against suggestions that a new ethics commission is a temptation to encourage voters to expand it.

The package of government reforms, including the creation of a countywide elected executive, “isn't just an isolated improvement,” Holbert said.

“They are working together to challenge the status quo and better serve all Los Angeles residents,” she said.

Some people, including groups that generally support these types of changes, are less excited about the new ethics committee.

Sean McMorrisdirector of ethics and accountability issues for the advocacy group California Common Cause, wrote a letter to the supervisors warning that the ballot proposal lacks the necessary details and safeguards to ensure the new ethics commission is truly independent.

Some of the details of the ethics proposal, which calls for creating a new committee as well as an ethics compliance office and an ethics compliance officer, will be worked out after the ballot measure is approved by voters.

Holbert said she is committed to making the new ethics committee truly independent, but she also repeatedly reminded her colleagues that she has no interest in making “perfect the enemy of good.”

The argument remains unshakable Rob QuanQuan, an activist with UnRigLA who has pushed for anti-corruption measures in the city and county, said the ballot language would allow new ethics board members to be removed by supervisors for political reasons.

Quan told supervisors on Tuesday that the proposed ethics code “seems like a cheap icing on the cake, tacked on to highlight other reforms.”

“To say these are half-baked reforms is really a stretch,” he said. “This may be the least independent ethics commission ever conceived, and it would be very misleading to tell voters otherwise.”

Holbert's proposal, co-written with his supervisor Janice Hahnhas faced opposition from someone familiar with setting up ethics institutions.

Former Los Angeles City Council Member Ruth GalanterGalanter, who served as mayor from 1987 to 2003, said he thinks the county's new ethics commission is a waste of money. Galanter signed a voting opinion opposing Charter Amendment H, which established the city's ethics commission.

The measure, approved by voters in 1990, brought about a number of reforms, including public financing of political campaigns, as well as big pay raises for Los Angeles City Council members, which Galanter opposed.

Galanter believes a new county ethics commission would simply duplicate the work of the Fair Political Action Commission, which enforces campaign finance and conflict of interest laws across the state, and said it was the FBI and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, not the city's ethics commission, that uncovered massive corruption at City Hall in recent years.

“The evidence is there,” she said. “The city has had an ethics commission for 30 years. Has it made anyone more ethical? I don't think so. It doesn't have any effect.”

Galanter has expressed interest in writing a ballot paper opposing proposals for an expansion of the commission and a new ethics office, while Holbert has been working to push back against critics, pointing out that an ethics office's job would go beyond rooting out fraud to educating voters and making election information more accessible.

Holbert said once the new office is up and running, a variety of election materials will be accessible online, which will be a big change for the county.

The city's Office of Ethics, which has dozens of employees and a budget of more than $6 million, makes reams of campaign materials, including direct mail, radio ads and TV commercials, publicly available on its website, even though the county's website does not.

The proposal still needs a final vote from the board before it can be put on the ballot. Even if voters reject the proposal this fall, the county could still create a new ethics office.

On Tuesday, the commission approved Horvath and the county supervisors' plan. Katherine Berger Regardless of how things play out in November, we will begin setting up such offices.

Berger, who opposes the board expansion measure, said there's no reason why voters should wait.

current situation

— Business decisions: Some in the Los Angeles County public employee union have begun to oppose a key part of a ballot measure to reorganize county government, creating a new elected chief executive. Holly Mitchell An attempt to remove the CEO's proposal from the bill failed on a 3-2 vote.

— Out of prison: A 29-year-old man has been accused of breaking into the mayor's home. Karen Bass The homeowner pleaded guilty to one count of vandalism, avoiding additional prison time, and prosecutors dropped a felony theft charge against the homeowner. Ephraim Hunter, He was placed on probation and ordered to complete at least three months of drug rehabilitation.

— Issue the command: Governor Gavin Newsom The state government has issued executive orders requiring state agencies to remove homeless camps and encouraging cities to do the same, in what some see as an attempt to shift the responsibility for the homeless problem onto local governments.

— He came back: Former Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaVillaraigosa, who served as Newsom's top elected official from 2005 to 2013, announced his second bid for governor on Tuesday. With two years until the election, Villaraigosa is one of several candidates vying to replace Newsom. Villaraigosa last ran for governor in 2018.

— HYDEE VS HOME SHARING: City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto The city of Los Angeles has accused a group of businessmen of operating more than 30 illegal short-term rentals across the city, at least 10 of which are subject to the city's rent stabilization ordinance. The city's lawsuit seeks up to $15 million in damages. At least one of the companies sued has denied any wrongdoing.

— Koreatown Conversions: LA4LA, an initiative promoted by Mayor Bass in her State of the City address this year, has converted a residential building in Koreatown into housing for dozens of homeless residents. LA4LA aims to bring government, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector together to complete affordable housing projects.

— Back to the bus: County Supervisor Janice Hahn I got on the bus again.

— The French ConnectionAs we reported last week, the Los Angeles Police Department will be sending nearly 30 officers to the Paris Olympics. Now, more details have emerged about the contingent. The 32-member delegation, plus a supervisor, will be on duty patrolling various locations throughout the Olympics. The French government is covering the contingent's travel and accommodation costs.

Quick Hit

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor's homelessness program took place Thursday at Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights. The activity, conducted by City Councilman Kevin de Leon Police in the area evacuated about 15 people indoors, the mayor's team said.
• Next week's plan: The Fair Rep LA Coalition Virtual Teach-In The event will also provide information on how to apply to serve on the committee.