Laura Chick
Los Angeles City Controller

The 17th Controller of the City of Los Angeles, Laura N. Chick was re-elected on March 8, 2005, with an astounding 82% of the vote. Having called Los Angeles home since 1952, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from UCLA and a Master’s in Social Work from USC. Controller Chick is the first and only woman in the history of Los Angeles to hold citywide office.

As Controller, Laura Chick serves as the chief auditor, accountant and watchdog for the City of Los Angeles—working to ensure its fiscal health. Since taking office, Chick has released more than 110 audits—exposing contracting improprieties at the Airport and Harbor, millions in over-billing by Fleishman- Hillard Public Relations and hazing and harassment at the Los Angeles Fire Department. To further expand the ability of the City Controller’s Office to root out such significant problems, Laura Chick created the City’s Waste and Fraud Unit in 2005. In January of this year, she launched a live, 24 hour, Waste & Fraud Hotline and Website for confidential whistleblower tips.

In December, 2006, Los Angeles Magazine named Laura Chick one of the most influential people in the City. The Daily News recently editorialized, “…as City Controller, she’s often been downtown’s lone champion of good government." A Los Angeles Business Journal feature said, “Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick has emerged as a central voice in the ongoing debate over how the City handles its contracts.” In a May, 2004 feature article, Los Angeles Magazine states, “Where others couch and evade, she is Ms. Blunt.”

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appointed Laura Chick to the Board of Governors for the California State Bar. This elite, 23-member group, meets eight times a year to debate organizational policy and professional issues.

Prior to becoming Controller, Laura Chick served as Councilmember, Third District, in the west San Fernando Valley, from 1993-2001. Chick served as the first woman to ever chair the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Before entering elective office at the age of 49, Chick had already lived a full life as a stay-at-home mom, manager of a family owned business and social worker. “I didn’t approach elective office to be something—I entered politics to do something, to roll up my sleeves and help solve problems,” said Chick.

Laura Chick lives in Silver Lake, and is the proud mother of two grown daughters—Katherine, a teacher with the LAUSD, and Care, a psychologist in San Francisco. She is also the beaming grandmother of Morgan.