Editorial: Tired of City Hall scandals? This is the moment to reform Los Angeles city government.
In 2007, a man who used to be L.A.’s mayor went on trial for allegedly using city resources to run a private business. His business, for which he still serves as an employee, was a business “laundering” the money of City of Los Angeles taxpayers, with a reported $10 million in annual losses.
The case was a PR disaster for the mayor, because it involved city employees who were supposed to be doing public work.
City Councilwoman Jan Perry—a former City Council president and a close adviser to Mayor Villaraigosa—was the first to call for the resignation of City Council President Eric Garcetti on behalf of the citizens of Los Angeles. Garcetti was forced to resign, and the scandal was made global, as news reported that he had an unlisted phone number in his house.
But Perry wasn’t finished there. When the scandal became global, she went further: she launched a recall effort against Mayor Garcetti, calling for a constitutional referendum that would remove him from office. Perry won the referendum, with 57 percent of the vote.
And now she has another campaign on the ropes.
In October, Perry led all 10 candidates on the ballot for City Council President in a runoff election, but she was defeated by City Council President Herb Wesson, who received 44 percent of the vote. Perry was defeated in November by two-term council member Paul Koretz, who received 50 percent of the vote. Perry’s recall effort is now under investigation by the City Council Ethics and Elections Committee, which is looking into her campaign spending in an investigation launched by the state Attorney General.
Her defeat last November is the latest in a series of defeats for City Council leadership in Los Angeles—a campaign that is part of a larger fight against the influence of money in politics.
In addition, Perry faces other challenges in her campaign. Her campaign has been dogged by allegations that her leadership style has alienated her party’s left wing. Her opponents have alleged that she supports “pay-to-play
