Good Hand on Ethics Helm

When the term of highly regarded Los Angeles Ethics Commission President Dennis Curtis expired July 1, some expressed concern that the successor chosen by Mayor Richard Riordan might lack the aggressiveness and stubborn independence needed to keep city government clean and honest. But those fears should be dispelled by what appears to be a strong appointment, that of law professor Raquelle de la Rocha.

Only the second president of the ethics panel, De la Rocha brings a broad range of experience to her new position. Besides teaching law at UCLA since 1991, the Pacoima native and Van Nuys resident has served with distinction on the state equivalent of the city ethics panel, the California Fair Political Practices Commission. She also was on the L.A. Civil Service Commission during the Tom Bradley Adminstration.

Her background in law and government should serve the commission well. De la Rocha will manage 16 full-time staff members and a budget of $1.1 million.

When the Ethics Commission was created by a vote of the people in 1990, it was expected to turn over stones and see what scurried out. If the $xx million in fines that it has collected since 1991 is any measure, it has easily met that expectation. The Ethics Commission inarguably has made a positive difference; it’s not all it could be, but it at least has begun to make a dent in City Hall’s inappropriately chummy atmosphere, a condition that has worked against the interests of constituents.

Now it will be up to De la Rocha to chart the future of the commission. May she continue Curtis’ tradition of calm, courageous oversight.