Greuel for City Council

An open seat on the Los Angeles City Council typically draws a gaggle of candidates. Just three are running in the Dec. 11 election to fill out the term of 2nd District Councilman Joel Wachs, who resigned after his losing mayoral bid. The small field--the last open seat drew 10 candidates--is due in part to the presence in the race of two experienced politicos with well-honed fund-raising skills, former Tom Bradley aide Wendy Greuel and state Assemblyman Tony Cardenas.

The Times endorses Greuel, who has the best mix of experience and commitment to serve both her east San Fernando Valley district and the wider city. As an aide in the 1980s and early ‘90s to then-Mayor Bradley, Greuel helped launch the after-school program LA’s BEST. As an assistant to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, she coordinated federal recovery and relief efforts after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Since 1997, she has worked for DreamWorks SKG as the company’s liaison to community-based organizations and charities.

Her background lends expertise in a wide range of issues affecting the district, whether preserving the open space beloved by the Sunland-Tujunga horse community or promoting mixed-use development near the North Hollywood subway station. Her antidote to the Valley secession movement is to add bus lines, pave streets, site schools and make government more accessible.

Greuel’s main rival, Cardenas (D-Panorama City), represents the 2nd Council District’s northeast section in the state Legislature. He too has impressive accomplishments, notably winning funding for gang prevention. Up against Assembly term limits, Cardenas considered a race for secretary of state before choosing a campaign closer to home. But experience in the state arena doesn’t necessarily translate to the up-close, personalized politics of City Hall. The third candidate, Van Nuys businessman James Cordaro, doesn’t offer strong ideas to help the district and lacks his opponents’ name recognition.

Cardenas and Greuel have traded barbs, but not the attack ads that flooded the recent 4th Council District runoff. The candidate who waged the most negative campaign lost that election decisively, a lesson to remember.

Wendy Greuel’s breadth of experience and the energy she would bring to serving the district and city offer a clear choice.