For the past six months, I have traversed the San Fernando Valley. From Woodland Hills to Pacoima and Encino to Chatsworth, I have met residents and small business owners, seniors and students. A common message has emerged from those conversations: Angelenos are paying more and getting less.
Valley residents see City Hall spending $3 billion on homelessness in the last four years with no results and no accountability. They see streets filled with potholes, buckled sidewalks, and broken streetlights that take too long to repair. And they see a public safety system increasingly unable to keep our neighborhoods safe.
These problems share a common root cause – mismanagement of taxpayer dollars and a political class more interested in performative politics than solving problems.
That is why I am running for City Controller. To change a status quo that has failed Angelenos and bring financial judgment and common-sense to City Hall.
I will hold homeless service providers accountable and quantify the costs of failing to require drug addiction and mental health treatment, which is the surest way to put the homeless on a path to recovery.
I will analyze why it costs more to deliver high-quality city services to Angelenos than it does in our peer cities.
And I will evaluate how to better utilize our police budget, reducing response times, minimizing costly overtime, and improving public safety. My opponent has spent his first term waging an ideological war against LAPD and advocating to slash its budget. I’m proud to have the LA Police Protective League’s endorsement and will work with law enforcement to support their efforts.
Angelenos deserve a Controller who works hard and delivers results. My opponent completed just 11 audits during his first term. His predecessor completed 108 over two terms.
I also believe that the character of our elected officials matters. The LA Times reported that former staffers accused my opponent of sexual harassment and pressuring subordinates to live in his apartment building so he could earn referral fees.
I offer a different vision for Los Angeles. I have a BA in Economics from Yale and a JD/MBA from Harvard. I am a husband, father, former public school teacher, and businessman. And I’m endorsed by trusted Valley leaders like Laura Chick, Monica Rodriguez, Bob Blumenfield, and John Lee.
A vote for Zach Sokoloff for City Controller is a vote for change. I would be grateful for your support.
Visit zachforcontroller.com.
