Arizona State University professor of practice Joe Mathews is leading an effort to revise the city charter of Los Angeles, according to a Mar. 26 announcement. This marks the first major update to the city’s governing document in decades and involves direct participation from local residents.
The process is significant because it brings regular community members into decisions that could shape city government for years. A civic assembly of 37 residents, chosen by lottery, met at the ASU California Center Broadway in downtown Los Angeles to discuss municipal issues and make recommendations for potential ballot measures in November.
Mathews, who also serves as a columnist and editor for Zócalo Public Square and is a founder of Rewrite LA, said: “LA had a really rough year last year, between raids and fires and corruption and homelessness. And it also finally convened a commission to look at its charter for the first time since 1999, and only the second time since our charter was written in 1924.” He explained that he was asked to bring his international experience with grassroots democracy into this process after reporting on it locally.
During two weekends in February and March, participants considered whether to increase the size of the city council from its current fifteen members—each representing about 265,000 people—to twenty-five members. The civic assembly ultimately voted for this change. Their recommendation was approved by the Charter Revision Commission; all proposals will be sent to city council in April for consideration ahead of possible inclusion on November’s ballot.
In addition to expanding council size, seven other reforms were proposed by residents—including automatic increases tied to population growth and transferring appointment powers over the Ethics Commission from elected officials to an independent inspector general. Mathews said fundraising $265,000 was necessary because unlike similar efforts abroad which are government-funded, this one relied on private support.
Raymond Meza, chairman of the Charter Revision Commission told participants: “What I know about Angelenos is that most people love LA… When it comes to government, it’s heartbreak after heartbreak.” Mathews acknowledged low expectations among residents but added: “But sometimes you make real advances through failure and through the attempt… because this is new and because the stakes are really high for the city, this can be quite a productive failure.”
Mathews emphasized Arizona State University’s role: “If you want to look for a reason why it’s a great thing to have ASU in Los Angeles, this is it.”
According to a press release, Arizona State University has partnered with Argos Vision—a tech startup developing smart traffic cameras—for pilot programs aimed at improving safety in Phoenix neighborhoods. Additionally, Arizona State University has been recognized as number one in innovation by U.S. News & World Report for eight consecutive years.
