With the overwhelming passage of Measure E, 1.6 million voters put in place an ethics commission to watch over the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and also to remind them that investing in community-based alternatives to putting people in jail must be a budget priority.
While discretionary powers remain for the next five years in the hands of five board members, soon to grow to nine, and in late 2028 shared with an elected chief executive officer, the passage sends a message from the 74.1% who voted yes that these reforms are now law in regards to how the largest county in the nation operates.
The budgeting of Care First, Community Investments (CFCI) must equal 10% of untethered general fund dollars each year for alternatives to incarceration, such as mental health and substance abuse treatment and housing placements. These investments were part of voter-approved Measure J in 2020 that were mistakenly erased when voters passed charter reforms in Measure G in 2024.
“The decisive passage of Measure E sends a clear message that voters remain committed to accountability, investments in our communities, and alternatives to incarceration. Together, we will honor the will of the voters by protecting the critical investments in community-based programs and services mandated by Measure J back in 2020, and ensuring the independence of the new Ethics Commission for LA County.” said Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell in an emailed response.
Mitchell has supported the Measure J investments and gave $20,000 in contributions to the “Yes On Measure E” campaign, records show. Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, the architect of Measure G that reforms the county government, also supported Measure E, often called a fix-it ballot measure.
Medical students join a Justice LA Coalition rally calling for the closure of Men’s Central Jail outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Community groups, who support more services in lieu of incarceration, with many who have pointed out poor conditions at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), including worms in drinking water and a record number of in-custody deaths in county carceral facilities, praised the Measure’s passage because it restored Measure J program funding into the county charter.
“Once again the people spoke. I’m super grateful that the people were informed and not misled,” said Janet Asante, coalition lead for Justice LA, a coalition of groups in favor of closing MCJ and helping prisoners receive proper care. Asante had objected to the board putting the fix-it into another ballot measure, saying that put the burden on voters who had already approved Measure J to correct the problem created by the board.
She said in 2026 so far, there have been 34 in-custody deaths. Also, the need for housing and support services for those released are critical, since 64% of the county’s jail population have been locked up six of more times, meaning recidivism is higher than in jails in most other major U.S. cities, she said.
“Absolutely. We have already seen Care First, Community Investment objectives used for housing. More of it should be. Housing is a main thing. We continue to recycle people between the streets and the jails, and in some cases the county coroner,” Asante said.
Recently, the board approved spending $69.5 million on CFCI programs, which Asante said fell short. She said the county reduced funding for the Office of Diversion and Reentry and have declined to expand its programs.
Many who get released are often sick and end up dying later on, she said. She doesn’t foresee huge changes in CFCI dollars, ethics or transparency right away. “Everything in this county is based on political will. We have never had transparency at the county budget level. They (supervisors) find money for their own personal projects.”
She and others want to see the county’s Probation Department budget reduced, now estimated at $1.75 billion, and also that of the Sheriff’s Department, estimated at $4 billion. Money saved would be redirected to CFCI programs.
“As a community-based organization serving system-impacted youth and families in South Central, we are proud to be part of an incredible movement that organized to make it clear once again that voters want to invest our collective tax dollars into Care First resources and programs, just as we did in 2020 when we passed Measure J. Angelenos across the county decided to protect vital Measure J resources in a time where L.A. County is spending close to $750,000 per year to incarcerate one young person,” said Justin Marks, co-executive director of Youth Justice Coalition in a prepared statement.
Megan Castillo, coordinator of the Re-Imagine Los Angeles Coalition, which helped push Measure J to victory six years ago, said she was thrilled of the high percentage voting to reinvest money into CFCI alternatives to incarceration. “Residents are tired of the status quo and they have been ready for bold leadership and policies that will actually meet the needs of their community members. Measure E and the accountability infrastructure it will create will play a huge role in that,” she said in a statement.
David Levitus, executive director of LA Forward, who campaigned for Measure E concentrating on the ethics reforms, said the passage was “a good step forward,” on Friday, Nov. 6.
He suggested the new L.A. County Ethics Commission, and a soon-to-be hired ethics compliance officer, said they should not just nickel and dime offenders with fines for filing campaign statements late or not following the letter of the law.
“I hope they focus on the big offenders: the huge lobbying firms, big companies that spend millions on elections. That is where the focus should be,” Levitus said. “They need to focus as much as possible on how corruption actually happens.”
The case of former L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas may have spurred the creation of an Ethics Commission. Ridley-Tomas was sentenced on Aug. 28, 2023 to three years and six months in prison for voting in support of county contracts that would favor USC while accepting benefits for his son from the university.
He was a county supervisor at the time of the bribery corruption scheme. He later was elected to the Los Angeles City Council. In 2024 he appealed his conviction.
On Sept. 29, the Board of Supervisors appointed Michael K. Woo to the Ethics Commission via nomination by the Governance Reform Task Force. Woo joins Wilma A. Franco and Amanda Susskind, both who were appointed by the Board on Sept. 15 as the Commission’s first three members.
The three commissioners will nominate the Commission’s remaining four members following a public selection process.
The Commission can investigate corruption and recommend rule changes to the Board of Supervisors. Their job is to root out conflicts of interest and corruption throughout the county, from the Board of Supervisors to the employees within the county’s 39 departments.
The Ethics Office will support the Commission’s oversight of campaign finance, lobbying, conflict-of-interest, and governmental ethics laws,” the county’s Executive Office and the Board of Supervisors wrote in a recent announcement detailing the search for an ethics compliance officer.