City at Stake

Raphael J. Sonenshein is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Fullerton, and the author of "Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles" (Princeton). Between 1997 and 1999, he served as Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.

"Los Angeles owes much to Raphael J. Sonenshein, a pioneering scholar of this city whose serious study has spurred interest in its dense, subtle politics and government... The ... professor's book ... chronicles with precision the events of the mid- to late-1990s, as Los Angeles debated its future in the context of a complicated overhauling of its city charter. And Sonenshein writes not just as an observer but also as a participant: He served as executive director of one of two charter commissions that led that ambitious and difficult reform effort."--Jim Newton, Los Angeles Times "This is a thorough survey of the intricacies of politics in a city long reputed to lack coherent political organization and governance. It further shows how constructive coalitions can be built across ethnic and cultural lines by civic entrepreneurs and produce beneficial reforms."--Choice "Sonenshein's detailed and empirical study is a useful and refreshing antidote, and when paired alongside his 1993 book, Politics in Black and White, serves as the definitive account of the city's political history since the 1970s... Sonenshein's careful study of political power in Los Angeles reminds us of the importance of urban leadership in the shaping of cities, and of the likelihood that Los Angeles politics will be increasingly dynamic and unpredictable in the future."--Richard M. Flanagan, Perspectives on Politics "Not only does this book examine an important political shift in the nation's second largest city, but it also serves as a quasi-memoir, as the author was at the center of the debate as it was taking place."--Journal of Urban Affairs "A lively, detailed, yet academic book. I imagine reading it would prove instructive for all those involved in or concerned with public administration and public policy, particularly at the municipal level--and particularly in terms of building coalitions."--David Hodgkinson, Law Society Journal

• List of Maps ix List of Tables xi Preface: Reform under the Gun xiii Acknowledgments xix PART ONE: The Dynamics of Urban Reform CHAPTER ONE The Politics of Reform: The New Institutionalism Meets the New Diversity 3 CHAPTER TWO Studying Los Angeles Politics 14 PART TWO: The Roots of Los Angeles Charter Reform CHAPTER THREE Reform, Los Angeles Style 29 CHAPTER FOUR Richard Riordan and Conservative Reform 57 CHAPTER FIVE Valley Secession and the Suburban Revolt 72 CHAPTER SIX Charter Reform: The Cure for Secession? 84 PART THREE: The Battle over the Charter CHAPTER SEVEN The 1997 Municipal Elections and the Politics of Charter Reform 95 CHAPTER EIGHT The Charter Reform Commissions 104 CHAPTER NINE The Inside Game: Mayoral Authority 110 CHAPTER TEN The Inside Game: Police Reform 123 CHAPTER ELEVEN The Outside Game: The Politics of Participation 130 PART FOUR: The Unified Charter CHAPTER TWELVE The Creation of the Unified Charter 151 CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Fall and Rise of the Unified Charter 163 CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Campaign for the Unified Charter 185 PART FIVE: The Battle over Secession CHAPTER FIFTEEN Implementation 209 CHAPTER SIXTEEN The 2001 Municipal Elections 215 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Vote on Secession 227 PART SIX: The Future of Urban Reform CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Toward a Reform Regime: Governing Postsecession Los Angeles 241 CHAPTER NINETEEN Conclusions and Implications: Reform, Twenty-First-Century Style 251 APPENDIX ONE Summary of the Charter Proposal 267 APPENDIX TWO Using Ecological Inference Model to Verify Results 275 Bibliography 279 Index 293