County Ethics Commission gets real
Measure G, the historic 2024 L.A. County governance reform, requires an independent county ethics commission to be in place this year.
The Los Angeles county counsel is the attorney who represents the municipal entity that is the county. So who speaks on behalf of their client? As a practical matter it has been the Board of Supervisors, but it will become the county executive in late 2028.
Measure G, the historic 2024 L.A. County governance reform, requires an independent county ethics commission to be in place this year.
There is some irony in the decision to let the assessor appoint a member to the Ethics Commission but not the district attorney. Former Assessor John Noguez is currently on trial for bribery. District Attorney Nathan Hochman is the former president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
It turns out that you can't create an independent Ethics Commission, or even talk about one, if you don't get to pick your own lawyer.
Measure G promised Los Angeles County voters an independent Ethics Commission. County culture, and the county Charter, got in the way.