Dear AIA/LA POC:
Happy Holidays!
As an FYI, it has just been announced that Deputy Mayor Bud Ovrom will become the next General Manager at LADBS. This is an excellent opportunity to adovicate our support for the 12 to 2 initiative and efforts to streamline the building permit process.
More info, here:
December 22, 2009 | 1:49 pm
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa continues to reshuffle his cabinet of top advisers, announcing today that his deputy mayor for economic development will move into the top job at the Department of Building and Safety.
Deputy Mayor Robert "Bud" Ovrom will replace Andrew Adelman, who stepped down as general manager of that department in September. Adelman resigned as police were investigating allegations that he had raped a woman at his apartment. That investigation ended with no arrests made or charges filed.
Ovrom has promised to restart the mayor's effort to streamline the building permit process, which has been in the proposal stage for years. "As a 'bricks and mortar' guy, supporting construction has always been my favorite part of my job," he said in a prepared statement.
The appointment must be confirmed by the City Council.
Since Villaraigosa started his second four-year term on July 1, he has announced the departures of his chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff and at least one deputy mayor -- Helmi Hisserich, who became the No. 2 official at the city's housing department. Villaraigosa also accepted the resignations of general managers at two major agencies -- the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Water and Power.
This week, Villaraigosa also announced the hiring of a new deputy mayor for education: Joan Sullivan, the founder of the Bronx Academy of Letters High School in New York City. Sullivan is a member of the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit organization that focuses on new school development in the New York area.
-- David Zahniser at L.A. City Hall
Will Wright | Director of Government & Public Affairs
AIA / los angeles
A Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
3780 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90010
213.639.0777 phone | 213.639.0767 fax
Unbelievable!!! A Building Official with no experience as an engineer or inspector?? What will the unions have to say?? What will other Building Officials, ICC etc. have to say?? At 64 years old, at the most this appointment (if it survives the controversy and debate) will be short-lived. The General Manager of Building and Safety is the Superintendent of Building, and as such is required to be a California Registered Engineer. Ovrom may be a good administrator, but he has absolutely no qualifications to weigh-in on codes or to handle engineering issues.
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