In the Land of Hubris . . .

Latinos in Los Angeles are right to feel angry-- maybe even insulted--at the County Board of Supervisors’ refusal to immediately settle a lawsuit accusing the supervisors of discriminating against Latinos in drawing district lines. But they’re not alone in their frustration. The hubris of the board majority is a vivid illustration of how ill-served are all residents by the current county government structure--and why it must change.

An impressive array of Latino political leaders, who don’t always cooperate on other issues, appeared before the board this week to urge its members to “do the right thing” and settle the expensive and complex lawsuit out of court. The board was handed an unexpected opportunity to do just that when Supervisor Pete Schabarum decided not to run for reelection. With a powerful incumbent stepping aside--and one with a large Latino population in his district, to boot--the board could redraw district lines to give a Latino candidate an opportunity to be elected for the first time. That would render the lawsuit pretty much academic.

To hardly anyone’s surprise, board members Deane Dana, Michael Antonovich and Schabarum, who seems determined to leave office as ornery as ever, refused to deal. That means the lawsuit, first filed by civil-rights groups but later joined--not insignificantly--by the U.S. Justice Department, will grind on, costing thousands of dollars a day in attorneys’ fees. If the county loses, local taxpayers could then have to spend millions more on possible appeals, all to protect incumbents against uppity outsiders (i.e. average citizens) who would dare to exercise their political prerogatives.

Given the history of anti-Latino discrimination hereabouts, it is not at all unthinkable that the county could lose the lawsuit. Under the Voting Rights Act, that would give presiding U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon broad authority to change the system that caused the discrimination. In that event, Kenyon should take the opportunity to toss out an outmoded system that allows five white men to govern a diverse urban county of nearly 8 million people. Los Angeles needs a larger board of supervisors and an elected county executive, to better serve not only Latino voters and taxpayers but everyone who lives here.