Imperfect Paradise: An LA Commission created to tackle city government scandals is being stymied

California Love

LAist Studios

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4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A charter reform commission was created in 2024 in response to multiple Los Angeles city government scandals, including the leak of a racist tape featuring City Council President Nury Martinez. One of the commission’s aims was to modify the LA charter, which is basically the city’s constitution. But reports indicate that this commission is struggling to do its job. There are calls for transparency around its very structure. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins Imperfect Paradise to talk about the commission’s issues and how this work will affect the lives of Angelenos.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for L.A. is comes from Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theater Center, celebrating 40 years of new theater. The fall season features the Little King of Norwalk, Moskogos, and Neha and Neal, now on stage through November 16th. Tickets and info at Latino Theater.co.org. Support comes from Pasadena Playhouse presenting Julia Masley's solo show,
0:22.2	ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, where she turns the audience's problems into surreal side-splitting
0:27.5	theater. Ha ha ha ha ha ha is on stage at Pasadena Playhouse beginning October 15th. Tickets at
0:34.3	Pasadenaplayhouse.org. You're listening to Imperfect Paradise. I'm Antonio Serejito.
0:39.7	Long-time listeners of Imperfect Paradise may remember a series we reported out called Nuri and The Secret Tapes.
0:46.1	It was the first interview former president of the L.A. City Council, Nuri Martinez, did after a major scandal broke out over the leak of a tape featuring a private
0:55.5	conversation, including the former president, two city council members, and the Federation
1:00.2	of Labor President, all powerful Latino leaders in the city. The tape included racist remarks
1:06.1	and the rare unbarnished view of how politicians talk behind closed doors about things like redistricting.
1:13.4	This scandal, we cannot underscore what a big deal it was. It caused a firestorm.
1:18.7	Martinez and the Fed president resigned. One of the council members was turned out and the other
1:23.1	lost in the next election. But beyond that, and sort of even more pervasively,
1:28.3	it weakened Angelino's trust in city government.
1:31.5	And one of the city government's big responses,
1:34.2	not just to that scandal, but a series of other scandals as well,
1:37.3	which we will get into in this episode,
1:38.9	was the creation of a charter reform commission.
1:45.3	The charter is basically LA's Constitution.
1:48.5	A very important document.
1:50.3	Imagine that some B version of Nicholas Cage would want to steal it in some like alternate
1:54.7	national treasure movie.
1:56.9	Side note, I know that Nick Cage steals the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution in that movie, but the point here is that the charter is a very important document. Do not forget it.
	...

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