Los Angeles Controller Kenneth Mejia Shatters the Mold
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Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia
The election wasn’t even close. The onetime DJ won 63.33 percent of the electorate, compared with the 36.67 percent garnered by Councilmember Paul Koretz, a prominent fixture in City politics.
“It’s sad that we’re only now seeing lots of firsts. In my case the first City of Los Angeles-elected Asian American,” says Controller Mejia, age 32, of his triumph’s significance. “In the future, when people like me are running for office, they won’t be as nervous, because we were able to break those boundaries.”
Mejia was born and raised in Los Angeles. His mother, Raquel, hails from Pangasinan, and father, Manny, is from Baguio. He has two renowned corgis, Killa and Kirby.
LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia with his mom, Raquel Mejia
Another first he symbolizes is the election of a credentialed CPA to the Controller’s office, which was originally called “City Auditor” in 1879. All of Mejia’s predecessors were lawyers, career politicians or both. He reminds us, “There was a time when people didn’t know the (Controller’s) office existed. This election proved that politics are not as front and center as they are today. People understand the role of City Controller, and they care about qualifications.”
Competence Over Cool
In the past, the Controller’s office worked behind the scenes to ensure that City departments and programs deserved the public’s trust. No news wasn’t necessarily good news. For example, the budgetary allocations of the monolithic Los Angeles Department of Water and Power can look intimidating, arcane and frustrating to the uninitiated, but that doesn’t mean residents shouldn’t be aware of where their utility payments go. “Education was a large part of our campaign because we understood that it’s hard to find City financial information or to read a budget,” Mejia explains.
It may have been a blessing that his 2016 run for U.S. Congress didn’t succeed, since the Los Angeles City Controller vacancy offered a stage to express his geeky proclivities as a former Ernst & Young accountant. “I think qualifications mattered most in our campaign. We also provided voters with transparency and data through billboards, texts and social media.”
The Challenges Ahead
Now that he’s in office, Mejia is prepared to help Los Angeles tackle its marquee crisis, the more than 40,000 individuals and families living in tents, sleeping bags, broken-down RVs, homeless shelters, public restrooms, almost anywhere but a house.
Explains Mejia: “The City Council and the Mayor make policy decisions to address homelessness. The Controller centralizes data to help understand what policies are working or not working. From this data standpoint, we look into inefficiencies in how well we are reducing homelessness and how much money we’re spending.”
Bringing increased transparency and accountability to LAPD operations was a campaign promise that brought him to City Hall. The Controller’s audits examine whether specific LAPD programs, such as the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Team, Gang and Narcotics Division and Community Safety Partnership, make the best use of tax dollars. “If we’re paying $3.5 billion in our annual police budget, what does that amount get us? Are we safer?”
City agencies shouldn’t view the Controller as an adversary. “It’s our job to explain that audits are good things. They enable us to discover inefficiencies and deficiencies. If a process isn’t working, we can recommend ways to improve it,” he says.
Helping Four-legged as Well as Two-Legged Creatures
During my interview, the Controller’s office was abuzz with the release of the “Transparency Report: LA Animal Services on Shelter Operations & Animal Care.” The March 22, 2023 report offers a glimpse of a Los Angeles Controller and staff who are committed to bringing out the best in City departments for the benefit of all its citizens. The report takes a sympathetic view of the constant challenges the City’s six animal shelters face due to staff shortages.
The West Los Angeles Animal Shelter is one of the six Los Angeles Animal Services shelters featured in the LA City Controller’s new transparency report. (Photo by Anthony Maddela)
Mejia’s supportive approach is displayed by the 17 pages that the LA Animal Services Transparency Report devotes to the New Hope Rescue Partners program and its color code system for alerting any of 333 participating animal rescue centers of animals that are at risk of being euthanized unless they are adopted soon. The report states, “The New Hope Red and Blue Alert list is intended to communicate to New Hope Rescue Partners which animals are most in need of help, to flag them for special consideration by rescuers. Once an animal is Red or Blue alerted, the animal may be euthanized after 48 hours. These alerts are only for New Hope partners who have the means and resources to rescue these alerted animals.”
Mejia with his corgis Killa and Kirby
Changing Lives Outside Big 8 Conference Rooms
Public office and the high-rise office of a Big 8 accounting firm like Ernst & Young are a gulf apart, but Mejia appreciates the change of scenery: “The City Controller is actually helping a metropolitan city. You’re helping City workers and residents through financial transparency. At an accounting firm, you’re just helping a billion-dollar company. You’re impacting society as Controller.”
Mejia is especially aware of his impact on Filipino youth with political aspirations. He advises, “Be qualified. Build a community and be part of organizations that help the community. They’re the ones who will support your campaign.”
In 2022, this charismatic accountant won the hearts of over 500,000 voters. The affection is mutual. “Los Angeles is very diverse. It’s also working class,” he observes from a broad perspective. “Filipinos come up from a working-class background. Our ancestors struggled in the Philippines and our parents struggled here. We have similar stories to many people in LA. In that respect, Filipinos represent all working people.”
Los Angeles is home to the largest Filipino community of all American cities. Controller Mejia recognizes fellow Filipinos for their support in 2022. “Thank you for helping my campaign. Everyone should be proud of what they accomplished, and I’m proud to be that person. Salamat po.”
Anthony Maddela enjoys time with his family and watching birds in and around Los Angeles.
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