Meet Wendy

“As Mayor of Los Angeles, I will bring energy, innovation, experience and vision to the many challenges our City faces.” –Wendy Greuel

Wendy Greuel is running for Mayor to get our city back on track. Wendy wants to create a sustainable city with a thriving economy, great public schools and a seamless transportation system. Wendy would be the first woman elected Mayor in the city’s history.

Currently serving as City Controller, Wendy Greuel is the city’s chief auditor and financial watchdog. Under her leadership, the Controller’s office has identified $160 million in potential savings by eliminating waste, fraud and inefficiencies.

A lifelong Angeleno, Wendy attended public schools from Knollwood Elementary, to John F. Kennedy High School, through earning her degree at UCLA. Wendy started her career in public service working for former Mayor Tom Bradley, eventually becoming deputy to the Mayor.

While in Mayor Bradley’s office, Wendy was a leader in the creation of LA’s BEST, a nationally recognized afterschool program that provides a safe and supervised environment for children in the hours after school. Wendy’s commitment to strengthening our schools has been a priority throughout her career, and means even more to her now that her son attends a public school here in LA.

Following her tenure in Mayor Bradley’s office, Wendy worked as a senior advisor at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. At HUD, Wendy helped secure over a billion dollars in support for those affected by the Northridge Earthquake. In 1997, Wendy transitioned into the private sector, working in the film industry as an executive at DreamWorks Pictures for five years.

In 2002, Wendy was elected to the Los Angeles City Council, where she was the architect of historic business tax reform. This reform returned nearly $100 million to local businesses, eliminating the business tax for over 60% of small businesses and making the tax system more comparable to neighboring jurisdictions.

While pursuing major policy reforms such as the business tax, Wendy also focused on basic city services, such as sidewalk and street repair. She became known as the “Pothole Queen” for her relentless pursuit of filing every pothole in her council district.

In 2009, Wendy was elected Controller for the City of Los Angeles, performing more than 60 audits of city departments and investigating allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. She has brought greater transparency and openness to city government, such as posting the salaries of all city employees online.

Wendy lives in the Studio City neighborhood with her husband Dean and their son Thomas.