Close scrutiny: L.A. controller Laura Chick, high-profile watchdog of government, tabulates changes at City Hall caused by her spotlight on waste and inefficiency.

With less than three years left in her final term as Los Angeles City Controller, Laura Chick feels she has a lot left to do.

Known for her active use of her office as a watchdog agency for taxpayers since taking office in 2001, Chick has undertaken performance audits of many city departments exposing inefficiencies, waste of taxpayers' money and possible fraud.

"My motivation is to change city government for the better," Chick said.

A former social worker and City Council member representing the Valley for eight years, Chick was the first woman in Los Angeles history to hold a citywide office.

Chick is the first controller to hold the office following charter reform in 1999 which increased the controller's powers. Her bold, no-nonsense style has helped raise the profile of the office. While some have accused the 62-year-old, who now lives in Silver Lake, as being a media hound, Chick said she recognized the need for more public accountability of city government if any real change will take place in how the city performs its duties.

Her years at City Hall in two different posts have given her a unique perspective on city government and what it needs to be more effective.

Question: What do you think is the biggest challenge or problem with L.A. city government?

Answer: The biggest challenge is to have a cohesive and agreed upon city vision where the leadership of L.A. is united in both framing the priority problems and in the strategy to attack those problems. Instead of internecine and camp and jealousy and separate agendas. I've watched this for over 13 years and have to ask why aren't we further along in how we approach certain problems. It's because there isn't an agreed upon, unified city vision and then teamwork in going forward.

Q: The nature of Los Angeles itself is so huge and there are so many interests, could it be that perhaps we'll never have a cohesive vision?

A: On certain key issues there needs to be a cohesive vision. Here's one: traffic. That's something where politics doesn't have to come into it and shouldn't. It's a problem that's non-partisan and hitting everyone in the face. There's also public education. If people are logical and think about it that's an issue that impacts everyone. I guess maybe one of my own personal struggles is we have to surmount personal interests and partisan interests on a regular basis to move forward toward solutions. That's probably why I have never been interested to date in an office that's a partisan, political office. I don't think those politics work well in solving problems.

Q: Are you saying that you're not going to run for Congress or Senate?

A: It's not been on my plate.

Q: What about mayor?

A: I've thought about it very seriously twice in my political career and rejected the idea. I would say it's an automatic rejection going forward for many of the same reasons. I would find it very difficult to raise the kind of money needed for a successful, competitive race, and to do the job right you have to do it the way this mayor is doing it. There are too many other things in life that pull on me to want me to completely turn myself over to it. It's a total and entire turning over of your life to being the mayor. That is what this city needed and will continue to need. You have to be somebody who is willing to turn your life over. I am not.

Q: You found a lot that needs to be changed in a lot of the departments. What changes have happened because of your audits and your work since becoming controller? Can you cite specific changes in specific departments?

A: I'm not comfortable or relaxed that the changes are permanent. How things are done relies on written rules and procedures, relies on transparency and people watching but also relies on the people doing the work. And two, the changes are still very new.

These changes haven't become an entrenched, traditional way of doing things yet. But one change I would have to cite is contract awarding. It's still evolving and I'm still pushing for further changes. It has become more transparent and I think more fair and about the public benefit because, one, they know somebody is watching and two, because in particular the proprietary departments who have awarded so much in the way of contracts have changed the way they are doing business.

Ethics is a biggie. In record-breaking time, there was a huge change and it disallowed commissioners from raising money anymore for elected officials' campaigns, which had been at the root of awarding contracts. I think I changed the mayor's relationship with his commissioners. There is a reason why this mayor has a very top legal expert advisor on his staff.

At Department of Water and Power, they didn't have an audit committee. Well, they had it but it never met. They weren't fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility. They had their own internal audit department but their audit had to go through bureaucratic channels. That has changed.

These are written changes that have been voted on in open meetings so that for them to change now and go back to the old way would be a big deal and noticeable.

The Community Redevelopment Agency, DWP, (the Los Angeles) port and airport commission meetings are now televised. I would say one of the biggest categories is that city government has become much more transparent.

Q: How would you feel if after you leave office some bureaucratic faceless person who does not have the vitality that you have displayed, replaces you because no one else wants to run for controller?

A: I hope I can play an influential role in who succeeds me and it is my intent to do that.

Q: How will you do that?

A: Through an endorsement and helping on somebody's campaign.

Q: Do you have somebody in mind right now?

A: No, I do not. It's too early.

Snapshot 

Laura N. Chick 

Title: Los Angeles City Controller

Born: June 1944

Most Admired: Eleanor Roosevelt

Career Turning Point: Returning as a full-time grad student to the USC School of Social Work at age 40.

Personal: Single, with two adult daughters and one 4-year-old granddaughter

BY MARK R. MADLER

Staff Reporter