Supervisors Name Tracey as Treasurer-Tax Collector

Sandra R. Tracey, 37, became the highest-ranking woman in Los Angeles County government Tuesday when the Board of Supervisors named her treasurer-tax collector to succeed her former boss, Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon.

Tracey was selected for the $77,000-a-year post over more than 200 candidates vying for the job, which has been vacant since Dixon replaced James Hankla as chief administrative officer March 1.

A career bureaucrat, Tracey has served more than 16 years in county government, most recently as senior assistant treasurer-tax collector. Since Dixon’s departure, Tracey has been running the office.

As treasurer-tax collector, Tracey will be responsible for a staff of 739 people and an annual budget of more than $33 million. Among her responsibilities will be the collection of nearly $3 billion in taxes on 2.2 million pieces of property in Los Angeles County.

Tracey also will also be a key player in the county’s investment and borrowing practices involving more than $1 billion.

Tracey said in a brief interview that she has no plans to alter any of Dixon’s policies, adding that, “He’s got a very big pair of shoes to fill and I have a lot to aspire to.”

A native Southern Californian, Tracey was chief budget analyst for former Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford from 1981 to 1984 and a senior analyst from 1977 to 1981.

She also has worked in the county Parks and Recreation, Registrar-Recorder and Auditor-Controller departments.

Tracey, a graduate of UCLA, is married and has two daughters.

Her selection makes her one of only three women who head any of the county’s more than 40 departments. Shirley Goldinger, director of consumer affairs, and Linda Crismond, county librarian, are the others.

The highest position attained by a woman in Los Angeles County government was an appointed position on the Board of Supervisors held by Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in 1979 and 1980.