Last Barrier to County Board Expansion Falls

Removing the last obstacle to a ballot measure to expand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, the Department of Justice said Tuesday that it would not oppose placing the proposed charter amendment on the November ballot.

County officials said federal approval was required under the terms of a judgment in a voting-rights lawsuit filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other Latino groups.

Federal officials also said they would not object to another ballot measure that would create an elected county executive, a post similar to a county mayor. The county executive would assume many of the duties now performed by the chief administrative officer.

A federal judge ruled in the lawsuit that the board had discriminated against Latinos when it redrew district boundaries after the 1980 census. The judge ordered the county to redraw the boundaries to create a Latino-majority district, and Gloria Molina shortly afterward became the first Latina elected to the board.

Earlier this year, the board voted to take off the ballot another proposed charter amendment that would have expanded the board to seven members. Latino groups said they would oppose a seven-member board because it would dilute Latino voting strength.