Opinion: Abolish LA Council, raise Citizens’ Assembly

Zócalo Public Square columnist Joe Mathews argues in the Merc that the recent LA Council racism scandal indicates our “thoroughly broken system” of small, powerless, unrepresentative city councils. His proposed solution? Get rid of the council in favor of a larger, lottery-selected Citizens’ Assembly. Mathews’ coverage below.

Holding so little power, city councilmembers spend their time doing what they did on that tape — gabbing and playing games. Martinez, de León, and Cedillo were talking not about the city’s problems but their own power and how the redistricting commission was drawing their own districts. They complained about their districts not having enough “assets” — wealthy institutions that would give them money for their campaigns.

Councilmembers not caught on tape play these games, too; that’s how they get into office in the first place.

With a citizens’ assembly, the games stop. There will be no redistricting process because there will be no districts. There will be no need for scheming meetings with union bosses who politically control the City Council. And there should be no racist rhetoric or racial conflict over council elections, because there wouldn’t be any council elections.

The lottery replaces the elections. A representative sampling of the people become the legislature. Transparent, public meetings replace secretly recorded backroom discussions. And more people can participate — the assembly should have at least 200 members.

This can, and should, happen fast.

This article originally appeared in the Mercury News. Read the whole thing here.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity

Image by Ron Reiring