LOS ANGELES (November 10, 2022) - Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian has formed the Council’s new Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform.  Council President Krekorian will chair the committee and Councilmember Nithya Raman will serve as Vice Chair; Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Heather Hutt will also serve on the committee.

In a letter to City Clerk Holly Wolcott formalizing the creation of the committee, Krekorian affirmed its purpose as “implementing reforms to increase transparency, limit corruption, and make City leadership more representative of our communities, with the aim of restoring the faith of the people of Los Angeles in their City government.”

The City Council approved formation of the Committee on October 28, acting on a motion by Councilmember Nithya Raman.  “Due to recent events, the residents of this city have largely lost faith in their local elected representatives,” said Councilmember Raman. “With this newly created ad hoc committee, explicitly focused on governance reform and charged with making real, concrete changes to our governing structures, we have the opportunity to rebuild trust between the Council and the constituents that elected us. I am eager to get to work.”

Krekorian tasked the committee with taking up a number of specific reforms, including:

• establishment of a truly independent redistricting commission
• expanding the Council and reducing the size of its districts
• changes to the City’s land use and development practices, to reduce the Council’s discretionary powers and reduce the risk of abuse
• limiting the powers of the Council President and limiting the president’s term of office
• potential additional campaign finance reforms, including addressing unlimited contributions to so-called “independent expenditure” committees.

“We’re at a turning point in the history of this city. In the wake of recent violations of the public’s trust and failures to meet the standards of integrity the people deserve of their elected officials, we can no longer accept business as usual. The people of Los Angeles are calling out for fundamental reform, and we intend to deliver it,” said Council President Krekorian.

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