How to Achieve Cleaner Government

Democracy is both a principle and a process. The former asks only the assent of our hearts; the latter demands the work of our minds and hands. Democracy, in other words, keeps its promise of equal rights and opportunity only if it is made to do so.

On Tuesday, the people of Los Angeles can do just that by approving Charter Amendment H, a measure designed to make the city once again a national leader in ethical, effective local government and open, honest electoral politics. Half a century ago, an aroused electorate drove a corrupt mayor and his henchmen out of City Hall. In the wake of that upheaval, Los Angeles enacted a series of civic reforms, including nonpartisan city elections, managerial government and a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.

Today, public confidence in government is low and falling. The spate of recent convictions and allegations about officials at the national and state level, as well as the still-unresolved charges of malfeasance in Mayor Tom Bradley’s administration, has made the public uneasy about government in general. In Los Angeles it rightly has led to questions of whether those earlier reforms still are adequate to guarantee honest government. That is why, after lengthy public hearings, an independent citizens’ commission proposed the sweeping overhaul of ethical standards embodied in Charter Amendment H, which a City Council majority decided, after often bitter debate, to put before the voters.

This crucial charter reform--probably the most advanced in the nation--would give the city a powerful permanent ethics commission. Charter Amendment H provides for tough new financial disclosure laws for city officials, common-sense limits on their personal investments and clear standards as to what constitutes conflict of interest. Elected city officials will be required to devote full time to their official duties; outside earned income, including honorariums, will be prohibited. Council members, whose salary in constant dollars has declined by more than 30% over the past 16 years, will be given a pay increase to bring their salaries closer to those of city department managers, who now make more than council members. Charter Amendment H also imposes ceilings on campaign spending and contributions, and partial public financing of campaigns; it requires recipients of public campaign funds to engage in timely debates with their opponents.

Public sentiment for this measure doubtless would run higher if it did not include a pay raise for the City Council. Our view is that a pay raise, combined with these sweeping ethical reforms, is money well spent. The taxpayers of Los Angeles, and no one else, ought to be paying for the services of their public servants.