City Reform Plan to Go on Ballot

Under orders from a federal judge, a reluctant Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to put Mayor Richard Riordan’s governmental reform initiative on the April 8 ballot.

The measure--which received 304,000 petition signatures--will ask voters to create a 15-member elected panel to overhaul the 72-year-old charter that acts as the city’s constitution.

But the ongoing power struggle between the mayor and the council took another twist when several council members complained that Riordan has already built up a war chest to support a handpicked slate of candidates for the panel.

They charged that community leaders do not know enough about the issue to prepare an effective campaign and therefore only the candidates backed by Riordan will be prepared for the race.

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“This whole process is exclusive,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez. “It should be inclusive and attract community candidates.”

Most council members have harshly criticized Riordan’s reform plan, calling it a veiled attempt at creating a charter that will increase the mayor’s authority. In response, the council has created its own advisory panel.

Riordan acknowledged that he has raised funds to back a slate but said he is not sure how much he has. His campaign is required to file financial statements to the Ethics Commission by Jan. 31.

The mayor rejected criticism that other candidates would not be prepared, saying “everybody has known what is going to happen since early October” when he turned in the petition.

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Riordan added that his slate will include “very independent people who have the best of the city at heart.” He said he has not selected a slate yet.

Studio City attorney David Fleming, who helped put the initiative on the ballot, defended Riordan, saying that he expects labor unions and state Sen. Tom Hayden, Riordan’s chief mayoral rival, to raise money for their own slates.

“But now everybody points at the mayor and says that if you raise money you are a bad guy,” Fleming said.

Hayden said he plans to endorse neighborhood candidates on a case-by-case basis but has no intention of financing a slate.

“What’s at stake is so fundamental that it has to be challenged by neighborhood activists,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer ordered the council to put Riordan’s initiative on the ballot after its members balked, saying the initiative was legally flawed.

Pfaelzer’s order requires the reform panel to be elected by district.

The only question that her ruling did not address was whether the winning candidate must get more than 50% of the vote or a simple majority.