By Trevor Witt
Term limits on the soon-to-be elected Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer and providing guardrails to ensure that unincorporated communities receive their fair share of representation, were two takeaways from the inaugural Governance Reform Task Force (GRTF) meeting convened on Friday night at Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street in Downtown Los Angeles.
The 13-member GRTF was established to implement reforms outlined in Measure G, a charter amendment that County voters passed in November. The task force is expected to play a key role in shaping the future of LA County governance by recommending reforms to the county’s governing structure.
Besides making the county CEO an elected position by 2028, Measure G called for an expansion of the five-member Board of Supervisors to nine members starting in 2032, creates an Ethics Commission, and adds the positions of county Legislative Analyst and a director of Budget and Management.
“If you’re in an unincorporated area, you have the representation from your supervisor. If you’re in a city, you also have city representation. I only bring this up because, actually, after Measure G passed, there was some legislation that actually could have made some of these things worse based on how the new chief executive officer would make the appointments,” said GRTF member and former Duarte Mayor John Fasana, who LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger appointed to the task force.
Fasana disclosed that he actually voted against G, predominantly because of the elected CEO, but if voters decided on it, some really important discussions need to be had on the position’s appointing authority.
LA Federation of Labor GRTF Member Steve Neal and others participating in the Zoom interactive meeting echoed Fasana’s concerns regarding the newly elected CEO. One primary concern is the CEO’s ability to make appointments unilaterally, which could leave some unincorporated municipalities without representation.
“I’ve had some concern about that from the beginning. I voted no against this proposition. But I’m honored to be here with this very broad constituency of folks so that we can work collaboratively to make sure that the voice of the County of Los Angeles and the voters is fulfilled,” said Neal.
Marcel Rodarte, executive director of the California Contract Cities Association, who Supervisor Janice Hahn appointed to the GRTF, said he has heard comments that there was not enough information in Measure G surrounding the elected CEO and term limits, along with other items.
“I think we would benefit not just ourselves but the community by putting together sort of a frequently asked questions, if you will, on those types of items,” said Rodarte.
Former state lawmaker Roderick (Rod) Wright said not having term limits on a duly elected County CEO rubbed him the wrong way.
“One of the things I don’t like is an elected county official who has no term limit,” Wright said. “That’s an invitation to corruption. Ray Charles could see that.”
