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City Council confirms personnel department general manager amid hiring and budget concerns
Summary
The City Council unanimously confirmed the mayor’s nominee to lead the Personnel Department, who told members she will focus on civil‑service reforms, hiring processes for public safety and workforce culture as the city faces fiscal constraints.
The Los Angeles City Council confirmed the mayor’s nominee for general manager of the Personnel Department by an 11–0 vote on April 11, a unanimous endorsement after the nominee outlined plans to streamline hiring processes and build a citywide workforce culture.
The nominee, identified in the hearing as the assistant chief administrative officer and asked to join the dais, described a people‑centered approach that blends legal and administrative experience with an emphasis on transparency, fairness and collaboration. “I am ready to lead. I am ready to work shoulder to shoulder with all of you to build a city workforce as vibrant, resilient, and extraordinary as the people we serve,” the nominee said during remarks to council members.
Why it matters: The Personnel Department leads citywide hiring, labor relations and workforce strategy. Councilmembers stressed that the department will play a central role in any staffing decisions that may follow from the city’s stated fiscal challenges, and the new general manager is expected to work with LAPD and other departments to improve hiring timetables and onboarding.
Committee chair Bob Blumenfield and committee members praised the nominee’s record. At the Personnel and Hiring Committee, members said the nominee had presented a clear vision for prioritizing fairness and empathy in a department that has recently faced operational strain. Councilmembers who addressed the nominee on the floor noted her work on the unarmed crisis response pilot and previous experience in litigation and city legal work.
In her presentation, the nominee said she intends to examine the civil‑service system and recommend collaborative, evidence‑based adjustments without any predetermined ideological outcome. She emphasized public‑safety hiring as urgent, saying the department must remove unnecessary barriers that delay the hiring of police candidates while preserving standards: “We will work directly with LAPD … to prioritize hiring processes and strong onboarding, training, and systems,” she said.
Councilmembers from across the chamber welcomed the confirmation. Several members highlighted the nominee’s experience building programs from the ground up, documenting outcomes and evaluating results — qualities they said would serve the Personnel Department as it faces potential staffing decisions and possible budget constraints.
The council’s roll call recorded 11 ayes. The personnel and hiring committee report had been circulated in advance of the vote and committee members described their unanimous recommendation prior to floor action.
With confirmation complete, councilmembers asked for continued close collaboration between the Personnel Department, the City Administrative Office and department HR teams to manage any transition periods and to keep employees informed in the event of fiscal measures that affect staffing.
