Wendy Greuel

While most people working in politics will tell you they got into the business because of their passion for “making a difference,” Wendy Greuel has a different take.  Los Angeles’ City Controller says she simply aims to make “a good place to live better.” 

Greuel, who grew up in Granada Hills, resides in Studio City with her husband and 9-year-old son. But her Valley roots go even deeper. Her family’s building materials business, Frontier Building Supply in Van Nuys, has been thriving for more than a half-century. She now co-owns it with her brother. 

Greuel recalls an idyllic childhood. “What made the Valley a perfect place to grow up was the sense of community. You could ride your bike down the street to have cookies and milk with your friends, because it was safe and you knew your neighbors. Today, my son attends Colfax Elementary, located in a neighborhood with the exact same sense of community I experienced.”

Next on her horizon? A bid for LA mayor in 2013. “Now is a great time to be a ‘Valley Girl’ who just happens to be in politics. A high percentage of people vote and understand how important it is to elect people who have their interests at heart,” Greuel says, driving down a canyon road en route to one of many daily meetings. “It is so personally fulfilling to keep track of what citizens are saying and needing, because so many of them, like me, have planted roots in the San Fernando Valley.”