On Tuesday the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to move forward with a proposal that would revamp county government by expanding the current number of board members from five to nine. The proposal would also establish the Count Executive Officer (CEO) as an elected position. Both Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained from the vote citing cost and other concerns.

The motion also calls for the establishment of a Director of Budget and a legislative analyst, as well as the creation of an independent ethics commission. An elected CEO would also be directly accountable to voters and would significantly decrease the potential for parochialism, prioritizing the diverse regional population.

Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn first introduced the proposal Tuesday at a morning news conference outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and said they want their colleagues to place the measure on the November ballot.

“Our residents deserve a seat at the table and to have more of the business of the county done in the daylight,” said Horvath, who represents much of the Westside. “We cannot let another 100 years go by. We have to ensure the structure of the county meets the needs of today and can be equipped for the challenges of the future.”

Horvath and Hahn both stressed that the proposed changes would not involve any sort of tax hike.

“This proposal requires that it does not come at additional cost to the taxpayers, that we work within our budget, and with a $46 billion budget, I know we can do it,” said Horvath.

Hahn then added, “We are not raising the taxes for this government reform.”

Supervisor Mitchell questioned whether the package of proposed changes had been fully vetted and how the motion had settled on the number of nine for the expanded board. She also questioned whether the changes could be enacted at no cost to taxpayers.

“I just think there’s too much risk for us to take a bite of the apple that’s not absolutely ideal,” said Mitchell, whose 2^nd District also includes portions of the Westside.

Supervisor Barger insisted that “Bigger government doesn’t necessarily mean better government,” saying that regardless of size, board decisions “Repeatedly get stuck in bureaucracy and an unwillingness to make tough decisions.”

The county charter establishing the five-member board was created in 1912 when the county population was about 500,000. L.A. County is the most populous county in the nation with nearly 10 million residents and 88 incorporated cities within its borders. Each of the five-person Board of Supervisors represents approximately 2 million constituents.

“To achieve the checks and balances essential to our democracy, creating an elected County Executive must be accompanied by an expansion of the Board of Supervisors. Including additional members to the Board increases equitable representation for the County’s 10 million residents in all their diversity, with varied perspectives to balance a strong County Executive. Los Angeles is an anomaly in terms of local government representation,” the motion states.

“As a result, Los Angeles County residents suffer deficits of representation and accountability,” according to the motion.

For example, San Francisco has an 11-member board for a population of 875,000. Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, has 17 commissioners for a population of 5.2 million.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Supervisor Horvath.