La Cañada Flintridge account clerk eyes Glendale City Council seat
Susan Wolfson has lived in Glendale’s Rossmoyne neighborhood for 10 years, but it wasn’t until recently she felt compelled to seek public office, throwing her name in the hat with nine other candidates running for Glendale City Council on April 4.
She attributes the recent initiative to the urging of several neighbors, as well as being inspired by working as an account clerk for the city of La Cañada Flintridge and seeing an efficiently run city up close.
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” Wolfson said of her time at La Cañada City Hall. “Because the city is small I get to interact with everyone who works there in every department. It’s made a huge impact on me and how I see things.”
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Though she initially pursued a music degree at Claremont College, later majoring in anthropology at UCLA and earning a master’s degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, Wolfson has spent the bulk of her professional life working in the field of accounting.
In addition to providing accounting services for a number of clients on a consulting basis, she’s held positions at Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte), California Federal Bank and KPMG.
Wolfson hopes to bring the same sense of fiscal responsibility to which she’s adhered to the Glendale City Council. With 10 contenders vying for the position — her competitors all male, some of whom have raised tens of thousands in donations, compared to the $1,700 she’s amassed from supporters — she acknowledges she may seem an underdog candidate, but assures voters her intentions are serious.
“With most of these guys, it’s big business here in Glendale,” she said. “But I think I’m a serious candidate, because I have a good grip on the issues and have a good mind for solving problems. That’s what should really matter.”
Among those in Wolfson’s corner is Greg Andrews, a Glendale resident who came to know the account clerk years before when they served on a homeowners association for their Burbank condominium and she helped him right some long-neglected finances.
“I needed a really good treasurer, and here came this CPA lady who was nice as the day is long and could handle the books to a penny,” said Andrews, current chair of Glendale Unified’s Supt.’s Facility Advisory Committee overseeing the expenditure of Measure S funds.
“When she first told me she was going to run my first answer was, ‘Be careful what you wish for,’ but it’s really in all of our best interests for her to win,” he added.
Whether she wins or loses, Wolfson said she’s learned so much and is eager to continue engaging with community groups she’s met on the campaign trail. Her ultimate goal is to be able to bring more of the transparency and customer service she sees at La Cañada Flintridge City Hall to her hometown.
“When people come into City Hall, there’s an attitude of ‘Let us help you,’” she said. “I think that’s terrific — and I think it can be like that anywhere.”
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
