Shauna Clark: The dramatically new governance of L.A. County
In November 2024, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure G, a reform so sweeping that even longtime observers blinked twice before realizing it had actually passed. The measure replaces the appointed county CEO with one elected by voters. Proponents argued this would finally put accountability in the hands of the county’s 10 million residents. Critics wondered whether we had really improved accountability or simply changed where to email the blame. The effectiveness of Measure G relies on two factors, implementation and leadership.
Measure G delivers a remarkable bit of arithmetic. It expands the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members because “no five supervisors can effectively represent two million residents each.” Fair enough. But in the same measure, voters approved an elected CEO expected to be responsive to all 10 million residents, single-handedly. Apparently, the solution to the representation problem is more elected officials — plus one wildly overburdened superhero. In 2028, we will choose this first elected chief executive, tasked with managing $49 billion in annual revenue, overseeing more than 100,000 employees and serving a population larger than Greece. And yes, any registered voter with a clipboard and comfortable walking shoes can run.
But Measure G also contained a surprisingly bright idea — the creation of the Government Reform Task Force, a group of citizens charged with converting the broad promises of Measure G into an operational reality. And as fate would have it, a major survey and a comprehensive report were released just in time to inform its work.
Loyola Marymount University’s Center for the Study of L.A. recently conducted an extensive citizen survey to capture how residents feel about the county’s governing structure and capacity to serve. A striking 71% said county government needs major reform, even if it causes disruption. The survey revealed what many of us suspected: residents are deeply worried about fragmented leadership, slow coordination and the absence of a single accountable figure when things go wrong. They may not agree on zoning or whether coyotes are “wildlife” or “neighbors with boundary issues,” but they do agree on this: despite the depth of experience and dedication of its current staff and elected officials, county government is disjointed, reactive and structurally incapable of meeting modern challenges.
It is no wonder survey respondents expressed anxiety about fragmentation. The after-action report on the Eaton and Palisades fires underscored one of our structural realities. Fire suppression, water and power, public works, the emergency operations center, evacuation coordination, communications are under the jurisdiction of a Rubik’s Cube of agencies all holding different pieces and none permitted to turn the cube. No single leader had the authority to integrate operations in real time. Whether by design or good fortune, Measure G created the opportunity to fix this.
Among other reforms, the task force should recommend a unified disaster preparedness and mitigation framework under the authority of the new executive. The system must map interdependencies, clarify operational lines of authority and give the CEO the resources and ability to coordinate across departments, districts and commissions when disaster strikes. Without that, we risk more of these fires that behaved less like natural events and more like the apocalypse.
Our county has a rare moment: public expectations, academic research and real-world disasters are all pointing in the same direction. Whether Measure G becomes a governance breakthrough or an expensive exercise in wishful thinking will depend on the task force’s recommendations and the capability of the CEO voters choose. Voters must be reminded that the job requires more than charisma and funding. It requires someone who can manage a $49 billion government and knows why water pressure drops during a catastrophic fire.
Pasadenan Shauna Clark is former city administrator of San Bernardino and former city manager of La Habra Heights.