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| Wendy Greuel Candidate 33rd Congressional District |
What
Say You? Wendy Greuel.
U.S. Congress. 33rd District. Candidate
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist
April 18, 2014
“Henry Waxman served the people of the 33rd
Congressional District for 40 years.
He changed the lives of individual people for the better and he changed
the future of our Country with his legislative work: the Clean Water Act, the
Clean Air Act, the Affordable Care Act,” stated Wendy Greuel.
“When I learned the Congressman had decided not
to run I took a deep breath and said to my husband, “I want to go to Congress
to continue his legacy.”
There are 18 candidates on the ballot for the
Congressional seat. Here is why I think Greuel is the one to vote for in this
very crowded field, with other candidates often sharing values and also having
name recognition.
First, what are my criteria? I want a compassionate and caring
person who believes, as Waxman did, that being a Congress Member is an
opportunity to serve and protect the people of the District. I want a candidate I can rely on. One that will be effective once
elected. And that means they have
to be savvy in the ways of government and politics. It also means they know how to compromise and how to build
consensus. They know when it’s a
good idea to compromise and when compromising would be a betrayal of principle.
So what do we know about Greuel that lets us
think she is the best candidate for the job?
Greuel is the only candidate running with
demonstrated know-how in successfully maneuvering her way through the
bureaucracy that is DC.
During the Clinton Administration Greuel was
tapped by Andrew Cuomo, the Secretary of HUD (Housing and Urban Development),
to be the Deputy Director of the Inter-Agency Council on the Homeless and then
to be the Regional Director for HUD.
Working in HUD she helped to develop a Homeless
Policy that gave 75 million dollars in grants to cities that worked in
innovative ways to reduce homelessness and to create a continuum of care. Santa Monica was the fortunate
recipient of some of this grant money.
With Greuel as the Regional Director, HUD gave
the whopping sum of 1 billion to the Los Angeles area to help rebuild after the
1994 earthquake. Santa Monica was
a recipient of part of those funds, as 5% of the City housing stock had been
damaged in the earthquake.
When GLAD, (Greater Los Angeles Facility on
Deafness), was seeking funding for a renovation of their building, Greuel brought
the grant decision makers from HUD to the facility and asked them to “look at
what will happen if you can’t find a way to give them the grant.” Because she was
able to bring them together and show the impact of their decision, GLAD received
the grant.
DreamWorks Studio then recruited Greuel from HUD
to work for them on philanthropic and political issues. “DreamWorks was a company that wanted to use its power in a
way that would make a difference,” said Greuel. Representing DreamWorks, Greuel was able to create new jobs
in Los Angeles, expand the philanthropic work of DreamWorks and start animation
programs in local schools.
Greuel has demonstrated abilities as a
legislator and a good government advocate, first, early in her career, working
for Mayor Tom Bradley, and later, as both a Los Angeles Council Member and as
Los Angeles City Controller.
In her early years in government, as an
Assistant to Mayor Bradley, Greuel was instrumental in securing a vacant
building at the Veteran’s Administration for use by homeless Vets. It seems an obvious idea, but it didn’t
come easy.
When the insurance company threatened cancelling
the insurance of the Gay and Lesbian Center at the beginning of the AIDS crisis,
the Head of the Center, Tori Osborne, called for help.
Wendy was there to speak on behalf of the Center
and to propose a course of action to Mayor Bradley. Bradley then called the insurance company. The insurance was reinstated.
As a Los Angeles Council Member, Greuel
sponsored, among other actions, legislation that funded traffic and
transportation improvements, protected 1200 acres of public open space and
supported small business owners.
As City Controller, Greuel focused on ensuring
fiscal responsibility of the City Departments including the Department of
Transportation and the Department of Building and Safety. Concerned that the Department of Water
and Power wasn’t effectively supporting renewal energy, she instituted an
energy audit on their renewable energy portfolio.
Greuel grew up in the San Fernando Valley and
went to college at UCLA, studying psychology and economics and political
science. She found her
introduction to political work when looking for a summer job. There was a listing for a position in
the Office of the Los Angeles City Representative in Washington DC. She applied and was accepted.
“I was the guide for Los Angles Council members
when they came to DC. Part of my
job, because I was low on the totem pole, was to pick Council Members up at the
airport. I thought it was great
because it gave me a chance to talk with elected officials. It was an inspiration for me.”
Talking about the Congresswoman she wants to be,
Greuel said, “There will never be another Henry Waxman but I promise to be a
fighter and a doer. I’m going to
fight to protect the environment and to address climate change. I’m going to make sure we protect our
beaches and our mountains. I will work to reintroduce the Waxman Markey Cap and
Trade Bill. I will work to set a
national carbon goal for the Country.
“I will speak out on women’s rights, education,
on civil rights, on LGBT rights. I will protect seniors. I will stand up for Medicare and Social
Security. I will work to pass
immigration reform. I will never
give up on my principles.
“I will work to build consensus. I so admire the women leaders in the
Congress who came together to end the government shutdown and I look forward to
working with them.
“We knew Congressman Waxman had it in his gut to
do the right thing. We knew we could
rely on him to stand up for people, stand against the special interests.
“You can rely on me. I will see the big picture and I will be there for the
people of the District.”
For all these reasons I think Wendy Greuel has
earned our trust and our vote.
What Say You?
