THE BUZZ: ETHICAL LAPSE — Los Angeles City Hall, you might have heard, has an image problem — three council members were sentenced to prison for corruption, another faces embezzlement and perjury charges; top city officials have been ensnared in kickback schemes and harassment allegations; and a leaked audio tape of backroom dealings caused a national uproar. City leaders promised to pursue reform after the string of embarrassing headlines. But that effort then ran headfirst into an ironclad rule of politics: People in power aren’t exactly keen to hand that power away. That collision was on full display on Tuesday when the Los Angeles City Council advanced reforms to the city’s ethics commission that were significantly hemmed in by last-minute changes. “In recent years, a series of shocking scandals and revelations created a powerful demand for reform of our City government,” said Council President Paul Krekorian in a statement after the vote. The policies that moved forward, he said, “are answering that demand.” The proposal makes tangible changes, including tripling the penalties for violating the city’s ethics code, from $5,000 to $15,000, and providing the commission with a minimum annual budget. Overall, though, those hoping to usher in a new ethical era for the city ended the day feeling dejected. A series of late amendments blocked a proposed expansion of the commission’s size and stopped it from being able to take recommendations directly to the voters if they were disapproved by the council. “The appetite for reform exists from the public, but the will doesn't exist from the city council nor from those who may potentially be regulated,” said Jamie York, whose own nomination to the ethics commission last year was blocked after a controversial vote. Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, who authored some of the amendments, defended the changes by noting that he and his colleagues are elected to make such decisions. “I don't believe we should be abdicating that responsibility to any unelected body,” he said. That argument was echoed by labor groups, who launched a full-court press to scale back the proposal, including hiring former Council President Herb Wesson as a lobbyist. A number of rank-and-file union members spoke of fears of being forced to register as lobbyists — which was not part of the measure, but speaks to organized labor’s fears that an unleashed ethics commission could push through sweeping changes to the city’s lobbying laws. For reformers, establishing distance from the council was exactly the point. They sought assurances that the commission’s budget could not be threatened — say, if a member was angered by its enforcement actions — and wanted to ensure that the council could not just shelve the panel’s recommendations. Advocates for ethics overhaul faulted a number of players for the sputtered reform. Rob Quan, an organizer with Unrig LA, has kept a running tally of how long it’s taken Krekorian to let the proposal move forward. He also lamented the lack of pressure from Mayor Karen Bass, who he said could have “made absolutely a huge difference in this thing, if she wanted to.” Gabby Maarse, a spokesperson for Bass, said the mayor is “continuing her work to advance ethics reforms in City Hall working with leaders from all across the city.” Quan was particularly gloomy that the amendments — which he said took the proposal from “watered down to water with a mild hint of reform” — were offered by Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez, two progressives who campaigned as outsider insurgents when they ousted incumbents in 2022. “I don’t know how this council will ever be able to reform itself,” Quan said. He said he’ll most likely vote for the changes when they are on his ballot in November, the final step needed for approval. But, he added, “I’m not going to be in any way excited or gain any hope that this will meaningfully change our city council or its ability to move reform forward.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Wednesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Meanwhile, you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? On his way to the Vatican for an international meeting on the climate crisis.
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