L.A. Council advances noncitizen voting and police policy

The Los Angeles City Council voted to move noncitizen voting and a police policy power shift to a Nov. 3 ballot, while sidelining other charter changes recommended by the Charter Reform Commission—leaving advocates frustrated and raising concerns about logisti

For the second day in a row. Los Angeles voters will get a chance to weigh in on something that could change who has a say in city life—and who controls the rules of public safety. On Wednesday. the City Council moved forward with a package of potential charter revisions that will go to the ballot on Nov. 3. including a first step toward allowing noncitizens to vote in city elections and a measure that would let the council set policy at the Los Angeles Police Department.

The noncitizen voting proposal was part of a broader set of proposed city charter changes put before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez introduced the measure and the council approved it on a 10-5 vote. “I believe it’s a simple principle that should guide us: If you live in the city. contribute to the city. raise your family in the city and are impacted by the decisions made in the city. you deserve to have a voice in the city. ” Soto-Martínez said.

Not all of the charter changes that were recommended are making it to voters this fall. During Wednesday’s action. the council majority set aside other ideas put forward by the Charter Reform Commission. including expanding the City Council from 15 seats to 25 and switching to ranked-choice voting. in which voters list candidates in order of preference.

Councilmember Tim McOsker, in an interview Wednesday evening, said he would have preferred a more comprehensive review, telling reporters: “I would have liked to have seen a more comprehensive charter review. But we are where we are.” Still, McOsker said important measures did move forward.

Under the council action Wednesday. the city’s lawyers will draft ballot measures covering a range of other topics. including establishing a director of public works. switching to a two-year budget cycle instead of every year. establishing a capital infrastructure plan. increasing the monetary penalty for ethics violations and making other changes. The council will still need to cast another vote for the measures to appear on the ballot.

Even if voters approve the package this fall, one key question remains unresolved: how the proposals will be packaged on the ballot. The city attorney’s office submitted a recommendation on Tuesday to break up the charter into a number of amendments.

If approved by voters, the noncitizen voting measure would allow the council to pass an ordinance enabling noncitizen residents of Los Angeles to vote in citywide and Los Angeles Unified school board elections.

Councilmembers McOsker, Bob Blumenfield, John Lee, Adrin Nazarian and Monica Rodriguez voted no. Rodriguez said the city needs more information about whether Los Angeles County. which runs city elections. would be able to handle the change. She also questioned whether. amid federal immigration crackdowns. the city would be putting noncitizens at greater risk by adding them to a voter database. “Given the dynamics that we have right now. what we’re creating is a list of individuals that could then just be the target [of] another potential federal administration. ” Rodriguez said.

Police oversight also moved forward on a party-line vote count—10 to 5—though it changes a power structure that has been in place for years. The council voted to put a measure before voters that would allow the council to set policy at the Los Angeles Police Department.

Currently, a five-person, civilian-run Board of Police Commissioners appointed by the mayor has that responsibility. Soto-Martínez argued the city missed a chance to exert more direct control over policing during last year’s immigration raids. saying the council would have been able to end pretextual stops if it had authority to set policy itself. He said earlier this week during a meeting of the Rules. Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. “If council had the power to do this. we would have made tremendous positive changes in this city.”.

Some council members urged caution. Lee said during the rules committee meeting. “I think the city should be very careful to examine whether the proposal solves a demonstrated problem or merely shifts authority. This could unintentionally politicize policy decisions and create instability as policy priorities shift with each election cycle.”.

The police union said the council also failed to meet and confer with it over any of the proposals at the LAPD, as required under the collective bargaining process. The union asked the council to suspend consideration of charter amendments that affect its members.

While the charter package focused on voting rights and policing power, it also included a budgetary shift for parks and recreation—one that drew sharp support from advocates and a warning from the sole opponent.

The council backed a proposal to double the amount of money set aside for the Department of Recreation and Parks. which has struggled for years with staffing cuts and aging facilities. Under the city charter. the agency receives a minimum allocation equal to 0.0325% of the assessed value of all property assessed for taxes within city limits. The council voted 14 to 1 to draft a charter amendment doubling that allocation.

Park advocates had sought the increase, arguing the park agency never fully recovered from cuts that began during the Great Recession. A council committee recommended a smaller increase earlier this week, contending the city would not be able to afford such a big increase during a four-year ramp-up.

Rodriguez pushed a compromise that doubled the parks allocation to 0.065% but over a 10-year transition instead of four. Park advocacy groups welcomed the deal, saying it would make park space, recreation facilities and senior centers more accessible. “Kids, seniors and families all across L.A. are going to get what they need and deserve,” said Sarah K. Friedman, a manager of special programs for the advocacy group Trust for Public Land.

Blumenfield cast the lone opposing vote. warning the proposal would tie the hands of future councils and make it more difficult to balance the budget during difficult financial times. “The more things we wall off. the more difficult that process [of] balancing the budget is going to be for all of you. ” Blumenfield said.

The Department of Recreation and Parks received a $292-million minimum allocation this year, out of a $359-million budget. On Wednesday, the council asked its budget team to report on the amount of money that would be allocated as a result of Rodriguez’s proposal.

The timing matters for another reason: the last time the city took up a large-scale update of the charter was in 1999, amid an effort by some San Fernando Valley civic leaders to secede from Los Angeles.

For many reform-minded groups, this round of changes landed with disappointment, not closure. Council expansion from 15 seats to 25 and ranked-choice voting—ideas recommended by the Charter Reform Commission—were tabled by the council’s five-member rules committee, which said they need more study.

Harris-Dawson said earlier this week that it would be better for Los Angeles to “do it right than to do it fast” when changing the charter. He proposed creating a committee to examine the implications of adding 10 more council seats and said. “A bigger council makes the mayor more powerful than the mayor would be now. In every city that has a large council. the mayor is vastly more powerful than the situation that we have in L.A. today.”.

Mike Bonin. a former councilman now executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State L.A. said he had hoped the council would approve at least one major reform after four years. such as council expansion. “It’s the great punt of 2026,” he said. “It’s an underwhelming result for a lot of effort.”.

The renewed push for larger representation dates back four years. after the leak of secretly recorded conversation among three council members and a labor leader included racist and disparaging remarks. An ad hoc committee focused on reform spent several months discussing the issue. then forwarded it to the 13-member Charter Reform Commission. which endorsed adding 10 council members—reducing the size of each council district to roughly 159. 000 residents from 265. 000.

Weistroffer said the council’s decision to shelve so many reforms would deepen public apathy and distrust. “We don’t need further study,” Ross Weistroffer, an organizer with Fair Rep LA Coalition, said. “We need further courage from our electeds.”

The council’s action Wednesday sets the table for what could be a consequential Nov. 3 vote. But with key reforms delayed. major questions still unresolved—including how the measures will be packaged on the ballot. and whether the County can administer noncitizen voting—Los Angeles is not just heading toward election day. It’s heading into a fight over what kind of city its charter will allow it to become.

Los Angeles City Council noncitizen voting police oversight LAPD policy Nov. 3 ballot city charter amendments Hugo Soto-Martínez Monica Rodriguez Tim McOsker Marqueece Harris-Dawson parks budget recreation and parks