Two years after the Los Angeles City Hall audio scandal leaked, voters finally had their say in this election. And they talk.
Voters overwhelmingly supported charter changes designed to curb the political power of elected officials by establishing an independent commission that would also decentralize and empower the city's Ethics Commission. Advocates have been pushing for these changes, but until the 2022 scandal, they were blocked by the city's political leadership. The measure was passing with nearly 75% support as of Friday afternoon.
Voters in Council District 14, on the other hand, expelled Council Member Kevin de León, who refused to resign after being caught on tape making inflammatory, racist remarks. Tenants' rights attorney and former primary candidate Ysabel Jurado had a double-digit lead over the political veteran at the end.
This was an important election for Los Angeles, even if it was overshadowed by the presidential race. City voters laid the groundwork for fairer, more representative elections by passing Charter Amendment DD, approving independent redistricting. That means that city politicians will no longer be able to draw the boundaries of their districts and choose their voters effectively.
Leaked recordings reveal De León, two other council members and a labor leader planning to manipulate the redistricting to maintain their power and undermine those they see as their enemies. That was allowed under the city's old rezoning ordinance.
A revolution is long overdue. Independent redistricting commissions increase public participation, reduce fraud and draw constituencies that represent communities, not the interests of individual politicians.
The voters also sent a message that they will answer the elected leaders. De León had been involved in a scandalous scandal. He belittled the son of a Black colleague and said he was a prop treated like a Louis Vuitton bag, suggested that Black people have more power in politics and made other disparaging remarks about activists and voters.
When the tapes were released, residents and elected officials called on De León to step down because of how damaging his words were to Los Angeles. Instead, he's holding his own, hoping voters will forgive and forget him. They didn't.
After a series of recent corruption scandals that have sent two local elected officials to prison, voters supported Charter Amendment ER to strengthen the Ethics Commission. The commission will now have a guaranteed minimum budget so elected officials can't spend money on ethics. Another change would make it harder for the City Council to kill behavioral changes they don't like — which the council has done, for example, when asked to strengthen the city's difficult-to-enforce lobbyist law.
Community planners and good government groups deserve a lot of credit for getting these measures to the finish line. They kept up the pressure on City Hall to support systemic change in the months and years after the scandal. Credit goes to elected leaders, including former Council President Paul Krekorian and Council Member Nithya Raman, who seized the moment to advance the necessary reforms.
Yes, there is much to do. This council ended up weakening the behavior change proposal that it put before the voters. The new Charter Reform Commission and advocates should push for major changes that ensure the Ethics Commission can be the fighter citizens expect.
Advocates also pushed city leaders to put a proposal on the ballot to expand the City Council from 15 members to between 21 and 31 members. LA's council districts are the largest in the nation by population. A city of four million people needs a great council to better represent the citizens and their various needs. But the council referred that decision to the Law Reform Commission, which will propose more charter changes in the 2026 election.
The commission is still being formed. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Krekorian were appointed to it in September, and the executive director was elected last month. Mayor Karen Bass must make an appointment before the next round of commissioner selection moves forward.
The overwhelming voter support for the charter changes shows that Angelenos are back with big changes to fix City Hall. The 2026 election should give them that chance.
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