Galperin joins Villaraigosa, Ma in Support of Venice employment attorney
By Nick Antonicello
Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin, the first elected citywide LGBTQ official, has endorsed the candidacy of Venice employment attorney Traci Park for the open seat in CD-11 to succeed the retiring Mike Bonin.
Bonin, the two-time recall attempted incumbent who has endorsed fellow Venice civil rights lawyer and tenant advocate Erin Darling has become a race of a right-of-center populist in Park versus the progressive in Darling, a life-long Venetian who played Little League baseball as a kid and surfed the beaches of Dogtown as a teenager.
Galperin, married to his husband Zachary Shapiro who is a rabbi, is the proud parent of twins as he closes out his second and final term of office as the City’s 19th Controller.
Elected in 2013 and reelected in 2017, the responsibilities of the controller is to manage public dollars wisely and effectively. Leading a department of 160, the controller conducts audits, manages city spending and serves as paymaster, auditor and chief accounting officer.
During Galperin’s tenure he established Control Panel LA, and opened the city’s first data portal. Under Galperin’s leadership Los Angeles was named the #1 Digital City by the US City Open Data Census. Galperin is an award winning elected official for public excellence and Galperin initiated the LA Equity Index which mapped some 2,000 free distribution food banks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Term-limited, Galperin initially sought a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors only to switch gears and run for California Controller to succeed the term-limited Betty Yee who endorsed the LA Democrat.
Galperin would only garner just 10.7% of the vote in the June Primary that saw Republican Lanhee Chen lead the field with 37% of the vote as he attempts to become the first Republican to win statewide office since the reelection of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.
California Board of Equalization member and former San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen finished second eliminating Galperin from the fall contest.
Chen, a Stanford University fellow and lecturer is the only Republican that is making a serious run in what has become a one-party state here in California.
The California Controller will preside over a nearly $259 billion dollar state budget.
A graduate of Harvard University with four advanced degrees, Chen has served in the administrations of both Democrats and Republicans. Married with two children, Chen’s parents immigrated from Taiwan to the United States and he grew-up in Los Angeles as avid Dodger and Laker fan.
Chen now resides in northern California and was previously appointed to the bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board by former President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the United States Senate.
Galperin offered the following statement why he was endorsing the first-time candidate in District-11.
“I am proud to endorse Traci Park because she will be a champion for residents of Council District 11 and for everyone in Los Angeles. Traci is a fighter and a consensus builder, two skills that will serve her well as she works with a new mayor and the City Council to take on the extraordinary challenges facing LA today.”
Nick Antonicello is a longtime Venetian who is covering the race for LA City Council and how it impacts the Venice community. To contact Antonicello, e-mail him at nantoni@mindspring.com
