former Los Angeles City Controller
Former Los Angeles City Controller and candidate to replace Henry Waxman as the representative from the 33rd Congressional District; former candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles; former member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 2nd Council District in the northeast San Fernando Valley; board member of the California State Film Commission, she previously worked in the Corporate Affairs Department of DreamWorks SKG
The Race to Replace Waxman After 40 years in Washington, Los Angeles Democrat Henry Waxman has resigned from Congress, and the line to replace him is growing. The registration is 44% Democratic, 27% Republican and 24% Independent. The 33rd Congressional District is anchored on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and includes parts of Torrance and other beach cities, including Santa Monica and Malibu, as well as Beverly Hills and surrounding parts of Los Angeles, all the way to Agoura Hills and Calabasas. We hear from two prominent Democrats who want the job, State Senator Ted Lieu and former LA City Controller Wendy Greuel. We'll talk later with other candidates, including Republicans and Independents.)
Wendy Greuel on Running for Mayor Wendy Greuel has worked for the late Mayor Tom Bradley, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Dreamworks Studio. She was a city councilwoman for seven years before being elected City Controller. KCRWs Saul Gonzalez caught up with her today at a meeting of pastors in South LA. She later joined us in the studio. You can find our interviews with candidates for mayor at KCRW.com/RaceforMayor .
Was City Controller Wendy Greuel Slow to Check Out a Scandal? SoCal Connected on KCET has added a third report to its ongoing series on HACLA . That's the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, which spends a billion dollars in mostly federal money each year, supposedly to help find homes for people who need them. The first report was last March, and the story has finally caught the attention of elected officials.
LA Coliseum under Scrutiny The LA Times has reported that the former events manger of the LA Coliseum and Sports Arena collected almost $2 million from contractors while both venues were operating in the red. Members of the Coliseum Commission said they were shocked and angry to learn that finance director Ronald Lederkramer got a 17 percent, $25,000 raise, which has now been rescinded. The Commission has asked Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Gruel (who's also a candidate for Mayor) to conduct an audit .
Los Angeles: The City of Fees The City of Los Angeles has furloughed some workers, laid off others and cut services to get rid of a deficit once set at $450 million. At the same time, it's failed to collect some $541 million in unpaid debt. Billing problems have turned up in audits by the elected City Controller, Wendy Greuel, and now the City Council has created a new job, Inspector General of Collections. We hear from Greuel and from the only council member to vote against the new position, Dennis Zine from the San Fernando Valley.
Financial Desperation at LA City Hall Former LA Councilwoman Wendy Gruel is now City Controller, the auditor and chief accountant, who studies economic forecasts and tells the Mayor and the Council what to expect. The answer for the next fiscal year is " not much ." Some city revenues will increase, but decreasing property tax will outweigh any gain, leaving a deficit of $484 million. We talk with Gruel and Council President Eric Garcetti.
Los Angeles Plans Darfur Observance Day This coming Sunday at the First AME Church of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles along with churches, synagogues and mosques will be raising awareness about genocide in Darfur. They'll be calling on residents of LA to help stop the violence.
Politics and Labor in an Election Year Mayor Villaraigosa may be a child of the union movement, but he couldn't stop today's first strike in a generation by his own city employees. Hundreds of Los Angeles' engineers and architects walked off their jobs today at crime labs, sewage treatment plants, animal shelters and airports. Union members picketed City Hall and other municipal buildings. Meantime, Governor Schwarzenegger may be a Republican, but he's defied some business interests in a deal with Democrats to raise the minimum wage . You can't tell political players anymore – even with a program! We thread our way through a changing political environment.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
