Good morning and welcome to LA on the Record – our town hall newsletter. It's Rebecca Ellis who, with the help of my colleague David Zahniser, compiles the latest city and county news for you.

Ten more days until a bitterly contentious election season comes to an end.

For LA County's five supervisors, a change of tone can't come soon enough.

“We've probably had more divisions lately than I can remember in the eight years I've been here,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday at another unusually sensitive board meeting. “I don’t like the dynamic between us lately.”

For the superates, the brewing tension has nothing to do with the main issues dividing the country. It's all about Measure G.

On November 5, L.A. County voters will decide whether to massively shake up one of the state's most powerful legislatures. The sweeping ballot measure would nearly double the size of the Board of Supervisors, create a new ethics commission and create an elected board that would act almost like a mayor.

The measure has unusually divided the five supervisors. Lindsey Horvath And Janice Hahnboth of whom led the effort, joined Supervisor Hilda Solis to get it on the ballot.

Superiors Holly Mitchell And Kathryn Barger described the proposal as poorly thought out and the process as rushed. Barger previously called it “far from transparent” and said she and Mitchell were kept in the dark for too long.

This week, Mitchell and Barger introduced their own motion that aims to address the county's often confusing bureaucracy and give the public more time to weigh in on county policies. It passed — but only after Measure G's three proponents on the board expressed their concerns. The motion ultimately passed 4-1, with Solis voting no.

“Honestly, I don’t think this is the direction I’m comfortable with,” Solis said. “I want to wait until after the election.”

Horvath said she was “skeptical of the motives” of her colleagues.

In county government parlance, that's about as confrontational as it gets.

At the moment, “the snippy quotient is very high,” he said Eric Prevena long-time board watcher and self-proclaimed “gadfly extraordinaire.”

“It's really the hurt feelings over Measure G that I think is creating a power struggle,” he said.

The proposal passed Tuesday included a strange policy change that, at first glance, had little to do with the upcoming ballot measure.

Mitchell and Barger wanted to begin presenting most board proposals in smaller groups – called cluster meetings – so the public would have more time to weigh in before the board votes. They argued the move would create a “more effective and accountable” county government. Currently, most applications are made available to the public four business days before the vote.

“Let me be clear,” Mitchell said. “In my view, this has no direct connection to Measure G.”

“This week’s motion was driven by nothing other than a desire to make the work of our board more inclusive and accessible to the public,” Barger said in a statement.

Proponents of Measure G saw it differently, arguing that the proposal — with similar themes such as transparency and accountability — would confuse voters so close to the election.

Morgan MillerChairman of the Yes to the G campaigncalled it a “stunt designed to mislead voters” and an example of “disingenuous politics.”

“This proposal is a sad attempt by career politicians to distract voters and undermine real democratic reforms,” she wrote.

state of affairs

– LAST DAYS FOR THE RACE: The support that LA County Dist. Atty. George Gascon in 2020 has disappeared as he seeks re-election. He is now lagging behind his challenger, the former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, in fundraising and surveys. How did we get here?

– BIG FRIDAY NIGHT: Friday night will test the limits of safety measures in LA as the city hosts Game 1 of the World Series and several other highly anticipated sporting events. mayor Karen Bass said she activated the city's emergency response center to make sure everything was running smoothly.

– MENENDEZ RESENTED: Gascón asked a judge for a resentment Eric And Lyle MenendezBrothers serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. The request could result in the brothers being granted parole, paving the way for their release.

— A cry for help, then homeless: A tenant tried for years to get the city to address poor living conditions in her apartment complex. This summer, city officials ordered the building evacuated, leaving her homeless.

— MOTEL chaos: The city sued the owner of a South L.A. motel that has seen at least seven shootings and 30 arrests in the past four years. The city says the Sun Motel was a dangerous hangout for a street gang and argues the owner did little to stop the criminal activity.

– LYRIC BACKLASH: Ysabel Juradowho is running to unseat the Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de Leon, got in trouble for saying “F— the police, that’s how I see them” at a recent event with college students in response to a question about police spending. The question was asked by a Cal State LA student who works for De León. Jurado downplayed her use of the F-word, saying, “It was just a text.”

— CAR-FREE DREAM: Time is running out for Bass to make good on her promise to create a “car-free” Olympics. With no detailed transportation plans and little funding, some policymakers fear Bass is running out of time.

QUICK CONCLUSIONS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor's signature program to combat homelessness went to Pacoima, represented by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez. According to the mayor's team, the operation removed several mobile homes and brought more than 15 people inside.
• On the agenda for next week: County supervisors are expected to hear on Tuesday from a report from an outside law firm, Covington & Burling, which conducted a years-long investigation and audit of the county's contracting process. The audit was approved in October 2021 following the federal indictment of LA City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who served on the Board of Supervisors from 2008 to 2020.
  .