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Opinion: March 8 election: Debating Measure L

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Angelenos who still haven’t decided how to vote on Measure L, the proposed charter amendment that would dedicate more funds to the Los Angeles public libraries, should tune in to ‘Which Way, L.A.?’ Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to hear a succinct discussion of the pros and cons. Jack Humphreville, publisher of the Recycler and an ardent opponent of tax hikes, spoke in favor of the measure, and I presented the editorial board’s position against it. Host Warren Olney posed some pointed questions to us both, which I hope will help clarify the choice for voters.

Those of us on the ‘no’ side have struggled to explain how one can support libraries but be opposed to Measure L.For the Times’ board, it’s a matter of principle: We don’t believe in ballot-box budgeting, even for noble causes like the library. Voters elect council members (and supervisors and legislators) to make tough decisions about budgets, especially when times are bad and the trade-offs are uglier. It only makes that job harder when voters declare that some departments or causes are sacrosanct. But Olney made a good point when he asked what voters should do when the council makes the wrong trade-offs -- for example, cutting libraries instead of tree-trimming.

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To me, though, Humphreville’s argument has an even more glaring weakness. Measure L is the worst kind of ballot-box budgeting: It tells the government to spend more on a program without providing the money to do so. The council agreed unanimously to put Measure L on the ballot after deciding not to ask voters to approve a $39-per-parcel tax hike to raise more money for libraries. Humphreville apparently opposed the parcel tax; evidently his love for libraries doesn’t extend to paying more for them.

I know, I know -- the increase the library is seeking amounts to chicken feed in the context of the city’s annual budget. But if it’s small beer, why didn’t council members just make the cuts to other programs needed to keep the libraries whole? Why punt the issue to voters? Not that voters will help with the trade-offs. Measure L simply orders the council to give libraries a bigger share of the pie; it doesn’t specify where it should come from.

Related:

Measure L’s profiles in courageous governing. Not.

Arguments for and against Measure L

Vote no on Measure L

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-- Jon Healey

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