An Asset to the Effort : Rebuild L.A. wisely moves to round out its top management

The newest co-chair of Rebuild L.A. is Latino--like 40% of the people who live in the city of Los Angeles. Tony Salazar, a community development specialist, is also a fighter who has spent his adult life working to improve the inner city. His expertise, his ethnicity and his long-term commitment to change are assets that should help RLA--and Los Angeles--a great deal.

RLA was under pressure to appoint a Latino to upper management. Salazar, the former chairman of the National Council of La Raza, a major Latino organization, had served for several months on the RLA board. His elevation to co-chair met with unanimous approval of the 21 Latinos on the board. That kind of harmony has not been common because Latinos are by no means monolithic. An experienced consensus builder, Salazar is expected to reach out to Latino diversity, to the recent immigrants from Central America, to the fourth-generation Mexican-Americans and to others. An expert in public/private partnerships and affordable housing, he is also expected to help RLA ultimately address needs in areas of the city beyond the neighborhoods devastated by the riots.

Salazar’s appointment notwithstanding, RLA’s top management could still use more expertise. The leadership needs the experience of an Asian co-chair who can bridge the diversity within that growing community.

The current RLA leaders--Peter V. Ueberroth, Salazar, Bernard W. Kinsey (an African-American) and Barry Sanders--are all men. Women too belong in RLA’s top echelon. That challenge is also expected to be met long before RLA completes its tough job.