How to Really Get Rid of Corruption at City Hall

Unfortunately, the Council’s “action” is merely smoke and mirrors and leaves intact the current system where the fox is watching the henhouse. 

More offices and departments are not the answer to what ails City Hall. I have proposed anti-corruption measures that will have a real impact. The City Council could start implementing my suggestions now if they wanted to root out the people who are committing crimes and begin to reform our city. But I’m not sure that is their objective. 

I’ve called for fundamental changes that will empower existing city watchdogs to actually fight corruption without creating more bureaucracy. 

Currently, the City Controller’s Office and the City Ethics Commission oversight authority is weak and ineffective. Decades of corruption and misdeeds have gone unchecked. My proposals will change the City’s Charter to allow the Office and Commission to have the necessary funding and independence so they can act as the anti-corruption watchdogs they are intended to be. 

These changes, which may require charter amendments and voter approval include: 

1. Creating independent funding streams for both offices so they are not constrained or influenced by the City Council, which currently controls their budgets; 

2. Having Ethics Commissioners be appointed by an independent panel of retired judges rather than by the very individuals the Commissioners are supposed to oversee; and 

3. Requiring the Controller’s Office and Ethics Commission to coordinate with law enforcement outside the city when suspected violations appear to be felonies. 

Independent funding is necessary to guarantee that both entities have the appropriate resources to achieve their oversight mission and eliminate the fear of financial reprisal that have grossly limited the entities’ ability to do their jobs, especially when investigating councilmembers themselves. Removing the “power of the purse” from the City Council frees the offices to act in the best interests of the public. Their budgets should be guaranteed funding just like the funding for our public libraries. 

Having the Ethics Commissioners appointed by retired judges is to ensure that the Commission fulfills its duty to “preserve the public trust and foster public confidence in city government and elections.” 

Currently, commissioners are appointed by some of the very people they are tasked with overseeing: the mayor, the city attorney, the controller, the president of the city council, and the president pro tempore of the city council. Removing appointment power from those individuals means commissioners are truly independent and not beholden to their appointers. 

In cases involving alleged felonies, coordinating with law enforcement outside of the city ensures that an independent agency objectively investigates the suspected violations. It also will allow for significant penalties, including imprisonment, to be imposed. Currently, the Ethics Commission can do nothing more than order an administrative compliance and/or assess a monetary penalty. Those are weak remedies. There needs to be real consequences that act as real deterrents to corruption. Those consequences should absolutely include going to prison. 

Once the newly independent Ethics Commission is in place, it should be responsible for recruiting, vetting, and hiring its own general manager. Currently, the general manager is subject to approval by the City Council -- another instance where the council’s current power has a chilling effect on the Commission’s work. 

According to United States Attorney Nick Hanna (as reported in the Los Angeles Times), the case against Huizar “pulled back the curtain on rampant corruption at City Hall. Councilman Huizar violated the public trust to a staggering degree.” Mr. Hanna further described City Hall as a “cancer” – a “disease of elected officials and staff members breaking a series of laws in order to line their own pockets, maintain power and keep open a spigot of illicit bribes.” 

Enough is enough already. Really getting rid of corruption at City Hall will be on my agenda my first week in office.

(Grace Yoo is an attorney and a candidate for Los Angeles City Council District 10.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.