Ron Shalom Galperin (born August 1, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 19th Los Angeles City Controller from 2013 to 2022. He took office on July 1, 2013 and won re-election in 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Galperin is the first openly gay official and first neighborhood councilmember to be elected to citywide office in Los Angeles.[1]

Ron Galperin
19th City Controller of Los Angeles
In office
July 1, 2013 – December 9, 2022
MayorEric Garcetti
Preceded byWendy Greuel
Succeeded byKenneth Mejia
Personal details
Born
Ron Shalom Galperin

(1963-08-01) August 1, 1963 (age 61)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseZach Shapiro
EducationWashington University in St. Louis (BA)
Loyola Marymount University (JD)
Websitewww.lacontroller.org

Galperin was elected Los Angeles City Controller in 2013, and re-elected in 2017. He was a candidate in the 2022 California State Controller election.

Education

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Galperin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, business, and political science from the Washington University in St. Louis and his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. He was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 12, 1994.[2][3] In 2018, Galperin completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

Career

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Prior to his election to the city controller of Los Angeles, Galperin practiced law as both a transactional and litigation attorney for more than 20 years.

Galperin was the first Neighborhood Council member elected to citywide office in Los Angeles. As an officer of his local neighborhood council, he advocated for quality of life improvements and more responsible neighborhood planning. He also developed and taught "L.A. City Government 101" to new neighborhood council members throughout the city and served as a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate.

Galperin was Chairman of the Los Angeles Commission on Revenue Efficiency. He also served as president of the city's Quality & Productivity Commission.

Los Angeles City Controller

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Galperin was sworn in as the 19th Los Angeles city controller on July 1, 2013. Galperin launched ControlPanel LA, the city's first open data portal, in October 2013. Because of these efforts, Los Angeles has been named the No. 1 Digital City three years in a row by the U.S. Open Data Census.[4] Government Technology magazine named Galperin to its list of the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers of 2015.[5]

Galperin created UtilityPanel.LA, a data portal featuring key financial data about DWP spending and payroll.[6]

Candidacy for California State Controller

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In May 2021, Galperin started running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, but announced in January 2022 that he would instead run for California State Controller.[7] If elected, he would have been the first openly LGBTQ state controller.[7]

Personal life

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Galperin was born to immigrant Jewish parents, one of whom was a Holocaust survivor. He is the first LGBT official elected citywide in Los Angeles.[8] His husband, Zach Shapiro, is a rabbi, and they have two children.

References

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  1. ^ "Issues and history in 50 years of L.A. Pride". 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Ron Shalom Galperin - #174373". Attorney Search. The State Bar of California.
  3. ^ "Full Biography for Ron Galperin". www.smartvoter.org. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  4. ^ Shueh, Jason (May 26, 2014). "Los Angeles Tops U.S. City Open Data Census".
  5. ^ "Team Los Angeles". GovTech. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  6. ^ "Los Angeles | Open Data | Control Panel LA". Socrata. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  7. ^ a b Garofoli, Joe (2022-01-06). "Los Angeles controller Ron Galperin jumps into California state controller race". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  8. ^ Galperin, Ron. "LOS ANGELES CONTROLLER RON GALPERIN FOR CALIFORNIA STATE CONTROLLER". Retrieved May 5, 2022.
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Political offices
Preceded by Los Angeles City Controller
2013–2022
Succeeded by