Auerbach for County Assessor

The job of assessor, even in Los Angeles County, is not a politically glamorous steppingstone job. And thank goodness for that. The 16 candidates for the nonpartisan job are for the most part serious civil servants and/or real estate experts. Of these, interim incumbent Rick Auerbach is the standout.

Auerbach, 52, has 30 years of experience in appraisal and management in the assessor’s office. He was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in February after Kenneth P. Hahn retired as assessor. Auerbach and the other candidates, in a winner-take-all race, are seeking to fill out Hahn’s term, which ends in 2002.

Since he was appointed, Auerbach has named a property owners advocate, a sort of ombudsman, to help with knotty property tax problems; he has made sure that the assessor’s office keeps regular hours, including staying open on Fridays, and he’s moving toward getting the office a much-needed new computer system. All this despite surgery after a cardiac arrest suffered this summer during his 56th marathon, from which the still-running Auerbach says he has fully recovered.

The assessor’s office identifies the ownership of all taxable property and establishes value for assessments and reassessments. As property values rise and dip over time, the county assessor must deal honestly and swiftly with property owners. Auerbach’s long record suggests he can do that.