Council Fails to Override Mayor’s Veto on DWP Oversight

Los Angeles City Council members decided not to override the mayor’s veto of a proposed March 8 ballot measure that would’ve given the council more control over governance of the Department of Water and Power.

In order to override a mayoral veto 10 of the 15-member council would’ve had to vote for it and in the end, the vote was split 7 to 8.

Had the council been able to override the mayor’s veto, voters would have voted on whether to give the council the authority, by a two-thirds vote, to fire the DWP’s general manager and board members, or reverse their removal by the mayor.

Councilwoman Jan Perry said she had hopes the same 10 council members who voted “yes” would do so again today to override the mayor’s veto.

Councilman Bernard Parks told his colleagues, “I would hope that we think about this, that we come back with 10 votes to make sure that the people
of the city of Los Angeles, who are paying hundreds of millions of dollars as ratepayers, get a chance to have their voices heard.”

Council members Tony Cardenas, Paul Koretz, Tom LaBonge, Parks, Perry, Bill Rosendahl and Greig Smith voted in favor of the override.