Politics & Government
Former LA City Councilman Woo Joins County Ethics Commission
The commission will oversee and enforce county laws governing campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The county Board of Supervisors appointed former Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo Tuesday to the county's first independent Ethics Commission, giving the seven-member panel enough appointees to nominate its remaining members.
Woo joins Wilma A. Franco and Amanda Susskind, who were appointed Sept. 15. With three members seated, the commissioners can nominate candidates for the four remaining seats, according to the board's Executive Office.
The commission will oversee and enforce county laws governing campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics. It will adopt rules and penalty guidelines, issue formal opinions and decide enforcement cases.
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"This commission could represent a new era of accountable, transparent, and honest government in Los Angeles County, and set a high standard for other California counties," Woo said.
Woo represented the 13th District on the Los Angeles City Council from 1985 to 1993 and was the first Asian American elected to the council. He chaired a council committee on governmental ethics and helped steer a voter- approved 1990 ordinance that established the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
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He later served on the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and was dean of the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona, where he is now dean emeritus.
The county's Governance Reform Task Force selected Woo as its nominee Sept. 16 after a recruitment process that drew more than 370 eligible applicants. Franco was nominated by Board Chair Hilda Solis, and Susskind was nominated by Assessor Jeffrey Prang.
The board also approved initial job classifications Tuesday for the Office of Ethics Compliance, including a classification for the Ethics Compliance Officer who will lead it, and a classification for commission members. The office will handle the commission's daily work, including training, advice, investigations, audits and public reporting.
County voters approved the commission and the Office of Ethics Compliance as part of Measure G in November 2024. The measure also calls for a new elected county executive position in 2028 and expansion of the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members beginning in 2032.
City News Service
