LOS ANGELES (April 3, 2023) – Central City Association of Los Angeles (CCA) released a report today outlining ideas that could improve decision-making and processes within Los Angeles City’s government. The report is intended to be an informational resource while the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform continues to meet and considers putting reforms before the voters in the 2024 election. CCA became a bold advocate for governance reform in the aftermath of multiple federal indictments and the leaked audio recording involving City Councilmembers that especially impacted Downtown communities’ representation. Read CCA’s report here.

“Making structural changes and shifts in legislative processes can help restore the public’s trust and fundamentally improve the way our local government serves its constituents,” said Nella McOsker, CEO of CCA. “This is a moment of opportunity that certainly includes creating a more independent redistricting process but extends beyond that to having a clearer and fairer decision-making process for land use and mobility issues in the city.”

CCA’s ideas include:

• Developing a truly independent redistricting process that empowers citizens and does not involve elected officials.
• Improving processes for planning, land use and transportation approvals by creating more predictability and elevating the role of experts.
• Analyzing an expansion of the City Council to provide the public with a full understanding of options, implications and tradeoffs.
• Strengthening mayoral powers over legislation, department and commission appointments.
• Outlining a process for removing elected officials who are no longer able to do their job for legal or ethical reasons.

Among its insights, CCA found effective models for improving local government processes and outcomes in other jurisdictions. While Los Angeles County, San Diego and San Francisco all have unique redistricting models, the report shows that these jurisdictions’ processes are more independent than Los Angeles City’s. CCA found another best practice in New York City Council’s Land Use Committee which has its own dedicated team of experts to support committee members’ review of projects and policy proposals.

“CCA continues to bridge the public and private sectors by producing useful research like this report,” said Edgar Khalatian, Partner at Mayer Brown and CCA Board Chair. “CCA will be active in governance reform discussions and other policy issues that shape Los Angeles’ future.”