Council confirms multiple commission appointments while members press mayor on geographic balance

The Los Angeles City Council approved a series of mayoral commission appointments and reappointments on Aug. 8, 2000, while several members pressed the mayor’s office to address what they described as geographic and ethnic imbalances in commission membership.

Why it matters: Appointments to city commissions shape policy and oversight across departments — from economic development to airports, libraries and neighborhood planning. Multiple councilmembers said the distribution of commission seats favors a handful of council districts and urged the mayor to consider geographic balance when making future nominations.

What the council did: The council voted to confirm or reappoint a slate of nominees to boards and commissions during the meeting. Votes recorded in the transcript included: the reappointment of Samuel Lopez Jr. to the Board of Information Technology (item 12) — approved; the appointment of Elbert Hudson to the board of Los Angeles Community Development Bank (item 13) — approved 14 ayes; the appointment of Leopoldo Bautista to the same bank board (item 14) — approved 14 ayes; the appointment of Lee Cannon Alpert to the Board of Airport Commissioners (item 15) — approved, 13 ayes, 1 no; the appointment of Mark Schaefer to the airport commission (item 16) — approved 14 ayes; reappointments and appointments to other boards (items 27, 28, 29, 30, 31) were approved with tallies reported in the record, including the reappointment of John Wentworth (item 27) and Mary Louise Longoria (item 30) at 14 ayes, and the confirmation of Brenda Freyberg to the Commission on Disability (item 29) at 13 ayes, 1 no. The harbor commission reappointment of Carol Rowan (item 28) passed 12–2 after debate about harbor representation.

Council debate: Councilmember Hernandez opened a broader discussion, citing CLA data showing commissioners clustered in some districts (for example, the transcript references 57 appointees listed from one district) and asking how the council should respond. The CLA’s office had prepared district and ethnicity breakdowns to help the council evaluate appointments. Several members urged the mayor to exercise geographic balance when sending nominees; one councilmember suggested the only formal recourse the council has is to vote down an appointment when distribution is unsatisfactory.

Airport commission discussion: The council considered multiple airport commissioner nominations, including Lee Alpert and Mark Schaefer. Members repeatedly raised local concerns about Van Nuys Airport and asked nominees about outreach to the Van Nuys citizens advisory committee and about noise and master‑planning for local airports. Nominees said they had local experience and pledged to engage with community stakeholders.

Votes at a glance (selected items): - Item 12 — Reappointment: Samuel Lopez Jr., Board of Information Technology — Approved (11 ayes recorded in minutes). - Item 13 — Appointment: Elbert Hudson, Los Angeles Community Development Bank board — Approved (14 ayes). - Item 14 — Appointment: Leopoldo Bautista, Los Angeles Community Development Bank board — Approved (14 ayes). - Item 15 — Appointment: Lee Cannon Alpert, Board of Airport Commissioners — Approved (13 ayes, 1 no). - Item 16 — Appointment: Mark Schaefer, Board of Airport Commissioners — Approved (14 ayes). - Item 27 — Reappointment: John Wentworth, Board of Tax Account Commissioners — Approved (14 ayes). - Item 28 — Reappointment: Carol Rowan, Board of Harbor Commissioners — Approved (12 ayes, 2 noes). - Item 29 — Appointment: Brenda Freyberg, Commission on Disability — Approved (13 ayes, 1 no). - Item 30 — Reappointment: Mary Louise Longoria, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners — Approved (14 ayes). - Item 31 — Reappointment: Pat Herrera Duran, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners — Approved (14 ayes).

Council direction: Councilmembers asked the CLA to use the office’s compiled appointment data — which breaks down incumbents and nominees by council district and ethnicity — to advise future confirmations. Several members said they would use their confirmation votes to press the mayor’s office for better geographic representation.

Ending: The confirmations cleared the agenda; the council left on record concern about geographic and ethnic patterns in commission appointments and asked the CLA and mayoral office to engage on ways to diversify future nominations.