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The FAIR MAPS Act (2019) established redistricting guidelines for cities and counties throughout California. While Los Angeles has great leeway in creating its own rules through the City Charter, the FAIR MAPS Act established equitable guidelines throughout the state, and any deviations from it would have to be codified into the Charter Amendment. For example, the FAIR MAPS Act established that council districts must have reasonably equal populations, be geographically contiguous (one continuous shape on a map), and maintain neighborhoods and communities of interest.

This webinar, hosted by the Our LA coalition & Catalyst California on March 16th, 2023, provides additional details regarding the need to reform the structure of LA's political system. This includes information on City Council expansion and an Independent Redistricting Commission.

This Knock LA article broke the news of the leaked City Councilmember conversation, and has since been updated with the full audio and transcript. Following this publication of the leak on October 9th, 2022, LA Fed President Ron Herrera resigned on October 10th, followed by former Council President Nury Martinez on October 12th. Gil Cedillo avoided Council meetings for a large remainder of his term, eventually replaced by CM Eunisses Hernandez who had already beaten him in that year's primary. Kevin de Leon continues to ignore calls for accountability to this day.

A policy brief compiled by members of the Fair Rep LA coalition. This concise report provides a helpful comparison to the representative ratio of other US cities, as well as considerations regarding the potential costs of charter reform and council expansion. By referencing the size of a densely populated community of interest, Koreatown, only recently unified within a single district, we determine that a maximum range for single-member districts would be around 31. This document is an excellent 2 page overview providing a brief case for City Council Expansion.

An introduction and cover sheet for the Draft Community Impact Statement created by the Fair Rep LA Coalition to help your Neighborhood Council weigh in on some of the most important issues. CIS statements should be submitted to Council File 22-1196-S1. Please feel free to reach out to us at fairrepla@gmail.com if you have any questions, or would like a representative to present to your Neighborhood Council.

Made by public policy graduate students in the Fair Rep LA coalition, this tutorial will introduce you to Dave's Redistricting: a free online tool that you can use to create your own district maps for the City of Los Angeles! The tutorial will show you everything you need to get started, and you'll be able to select any Council size you want for your map - including creating unique Multi-Member districts. Drawing your own maps while striving to maintain neighborhood cohesion is a great way to interactively understand the redistricting process, and your completed maps can be shared with the coalition and the public!

A Draft Community Impact Statement written by the Fair Rep LA Coalition, containing example language that could be used by local Neighborhood Councils in crafting their own CIS addressing current charter reform efforts. Please feel free to reach out to us at fairrepla@gmail.com if you have any questions, or would like a representative to present to your Neighborhood Council.

Published days before the 2022 General Election, the Editorial board of the LA Times echoes demands for an Independent Redistricting Commission, describing it as "an essential change to help restore faith in city government. Politicians should not draw their own districts or choose their voters; it’s a conflict of interest that puts incumbents and their allies’ desires above what’s good for communities." The article goes on to compare equitable improvements made by the recently established Long Beach Independent Redistricting Commission to the last-minute machinations of disgraced Los Angeles Councilmembers.

Published by the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles in 2006, this handbook to L.A. city government starts with an incredibly relevant quote from the Ralph M. Brown Act that we must share here: “The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”

On October 14th, 2022, former City Attorney Michael N. Feuer published a proposal to City Council, strongly recommending that the City immediately begin preparing charter reform amendments. Notably, Feuer recommends placing a ballot measure before the voters of the City as early as Spring 2023, redrawing the council boundaries prior to the 2024 election cycle via the county's independent commission. He also states that he strongly supports formalizing an Independent Redistricting Commission as well as doubling the size of City Council via additional ballot measures in 2024.

The Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission 2021 recommended a final district map, known as K 2.5, describing charter requirements and redistricting criteria they used, and the reasoning behind their recommendations. These official commission recommendations included future City Council expansion and the adoption of a truly Independent Redistricting Commission: one which would remove the final decision on redrawn Council District lines from city elected officials. The full report includes multiple appendices, including a record of all submitted written comment.

Written by UCLA 2022 Master of Public Policy students, this thesis compiles findings regarding the need for City Council expansion in Los Angeles. The group's recommendations include the establishment of an Independent Redistricting Commission and City Council expansion to at least 23 districts, coupled with a robust campaign of public outreach which would provide educational opportunities and build engagement.