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THE BOTTOM LINE - Los Angeles officials love to talk about transparency. They invoke it at press conferences, promise it during campaigns, and reference it whenever public trust is mentioned. Yet when presented with a concrete transparency measure tied directly to City Charter reform—one that would meaningfully strengthen public oversight—City Hall has done what it too often does best: nothing.
No vote. No schedule. No explanation.
This silence is not accidental. It is a choice. And it reveals exactly why Charter reform matters in the first place.
Charter reform was sold to Angelenos as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix structural failures that have allowed inefficiency, opacity, and unaccountable power to flourish inside City Hall. Transparency was supposed to be the foundation of that effort. Instead, a key transparency measure has been allowed to linger indefinitely, buried by procedural delay and bureaucratic avoidance.
In Los Angeles, delay is denial.
When City leaders refuse to schedule a vote, they are not being neutral. They are actively choosing to preserve the status quo. And the status quo benefits those who operate most comfortably in the shadows—where decision-making authority is diffuse, accountability is blurred, and consequences are rare. Procedural inaction becomes a shield against scrutiny, allowing entrenched systems to continue without challenge.
Transparency is not a slogan. It is a governing mechanism. It requires clear rules, firm timelines, full disclosure, and enforceable standards. Without those elements, public participation becomes performative and reform becomes cosmetic. Residents are invited to speak, but not to influence; to observe, but not to oversee.
That is exactly the danger facing Charter reform today.
Residents were promised a more open city—one where budgets are understandable, authority is traceable, and decisions are made in the daylight. Yet here we are, watching a transparency measure stall while officials who publicly claim to support reform fail to do the most basic thing required of them: place the item on an agenda and allow a public vote.
If transparency were truly a priority, the vote would already have happened.
Instead, the measure has been quietly sidelined, left to gather dust while City Hall continues business as usual. This pattern is all too familiar. Oversight proposals are praised in theory and buried in practice. Public engagement is encouraged—until it becomes inconvenient. Accountability is celebrated rhetorically while resisted procedurally.
This is precisely why trust in City Hall continues to erode.
Angelenos have watched major decisions made behind closed doors, departments resist scrutiny, and budget processes grow more complex and less accessible. Neighborhood Councils, Budget Advocates, and community stakeholders are routinely asked for input—only to see their recommendations delayed, diluted, or ignored entirely. Over time, this cycle breeds cynicism and disengagement.
Charter reform was supposed to change this dynamic. Transparency measures are not optional add-ons or symbolic gestures. They are the test of whether reform is real or merely rebranded governance. Without enforceable transparency, reform becomes little more than a messaging exercise.
So the question must be asked plainly: Who benefits from not holding this vote?
It is not residents. It is not Neighborhood Councils. It is not taxpayers who fund the City’s operations. The beneficiaries of delay are those who prefer ambiguity to accountability—those who understand that once transparency rules are codified, excuses stop working and power becomes traceable.
Sunlight changes behavior. That is precisely why it is resisted.
City Hall cannot credibly claim to support Charter reform while quietly stalling the very measures that would make reform enforceable. You cannot champion transparency while avoiding a public vote on transparency. Eventually, the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore.
That moment has arrived.
If City leaders believe in openness, they should schedule the vote immediately and state their positions publicly. Let Angelenos see who supports real reform and who prefers delay. Let the record reflect where each official stands—not in press releases, but in action.
Anything less is a betrayal of the Charter reform process and the public trust it was meant to restore.
Los Angeles does not need more task forces, more studies, or more carefully worded statements. It needs courage—the courage to vote, to be counted, and to accept accountability.
Transparency denied is reform denied. Until City Hall acts, Charter reform remains a promise unfulfilled.
(Mihran Kalaydjian is a seasoned public affairs and government relations professional with more than twenty years of experience in legislative affairs, public policy, community relations, and strategic communications. A respected civic leader and education advocate, he has spearheaded numerous academic and community initiatives, shaping dialogue and driving reform in local and regional political forums. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and public service across Los Angeles and beyond.)
