Two LA County supervisors seek reform: nine board members instead of five

Saying democracy isn’t being served, two Los Angeles County supervisors proposed sweeping reforms that include expansion of their board from five to nine members, electing a county chief executive, and empowering an ethics commission to combat corruption.

Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn co-sponsored a detailed motion that will go before the board next week. The two spoke about reforms outlined in the draft motion at a press conference on Wednesday, July 3, held on the steps of the county headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

They will be looking for a third vote in order to put the reform measure on the Nov. 4 ballot. If it makes it to the ballot and a majority of voters approve, a long process would ensue, starting in 2026 with creation of a county ethics commission, followed by the election of a county executive officer in 2028.

Voters would begin expanding the number of seats on the board after the 2030 census during elections starting in 2032.

The county government reforms would be the first major modification of the county’s charter in more than 100 years, Horvath said.

“It is time for transformative change. People are fed up with the status quo and fed up with a government not responsive to their needs,” said Horvath, during a speech that kicked off the media event.

Hahn added that she, as well as her late father, Kenneth Hahn, who served on the board for 40 years, always felt that five members was too few to properly serve the needs of residents living in the largest county in the nation.

Los Angeles County is more populous than 40 states. Each supervisor represents 2 million people in a county of 10 million, more than most members of Congress represent.

Yet it has the fewest representatives for such a large service area and population. In comparison, San Francisco City and County has 11 county supervisors. Cook County, Illinois has a population half the size of L.A. County with 17 county commissioners.

The Los Angeles City Council has 15 members.

“Five elected leaders serving 10 million people as both executive and legislative branches of government simply makes no sense and is ultimately a disservice to the community we serve,” Horvath said.

Essentially, a nine-member board would cut each district in half, from 2 million constituents to 1 million. “We are ensuring our communities have better access to elected supervisors,” Horvath said.

Why would five supervisors — sometimes called the five queens of L.A. County — want to dilute their powers by reducing the size of districts and adding a more powerful CEO?

“Women are pretty good at understanding how to share power,” said Penny Johnson, president of the National Woman’s Political Caucus, San Fernando Valley Chapter. “It would be better for the supervisors to have smaller areas and absolutely better for their constituents.”

Having more voices on the board, plus a county CEO in charge of the budget and of hiring and firing department heads, would strengthen the board’s ability to act in times of crisis, according to the motion.

The motion says “the lack of strong, elected executive leadership” has hampered its ability to address homelessness, wildfires, climate change and criminal justice reform.

Reforms as proposed would enable the board to tackle tough problems, Horvath said. She mentioned a few issues for which the board has received criticism, including the Probation Department’s history of excessive force and sexual abuse.

Recently, 66 officers were placed on leave, 39 of them for general misconduct, including suspected excessive force, child endangerment or abuse, possession of contraband and negligent supervision.

Another 18 were accused of sexual misconduct, while nine had arrests unrelated to their employment, according to the department.

The reforms have been studied, recommended and voted down in the past several decades. Voters said “no” to an expanded board in 1962, 1976, 1992 and 2000. In 2021, the Los Angeles County Redistricting Commission said it received numerous calls from residents about board expansion, and suggested it be explored. In February 2023, the board voted to examine the possibility of expanding the board beyond five members.

Many believed that the voters were concerned that adding more supervisors, which would require more staffers and equipment, meant higher taxes.

Hahn said the reforms would use existing budget dollars: “We are not raising taxes to pay for this government reform,” she said.

The county said the reforms in the motion are supported by a recent survey from FM3 Research, in which 88% of respondents favored a need for county governance reform. Of those, 52% said there was a “major need.”

“This time is different. We talked to voters. They overwhelmingly support expanding the board. They see a bigger board as bringing more representative government,” said Hahn.

The two supervisors said their motion is like a three-legged stool, emphasizing the need for an elected county CEO, creation of an ethics commission and the board expansion.

Part of the reform plan includes creation of a director of budget and management who would require each department to present their budgets to the Board of Supervisors in open, public meetings before an annual budget is adopted.

The supervisors have been criticized by nonprofit groups and individuals for what they called a closed, backdoor budgeting process. Some have said they don’t know how the county spends its money.

“Our communities need to know exactly how a $46 billion budget affects them,” Horvath said.

An Ethics Commission would investigate misconduct by county officials, as well as issues of campaign finance and conflicts of interest. The reform measure prohibits former L.A. County officials from lobbying the county for a minimum of two years. Currently, the ban is one year.

Horvath believes this November the board will be in step with the voters.

“We are bringing forward a robust, well-rounded reform package that shows voters we agree with them,” she said.

SCNG staff writer Jason Henry contributed to this article.