BURNHAM CIVIC

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The Preliminary Cabinet

Name your people before the election. No other candidate will do this.

Burnham didn't just draw plans. He assembled the team that could build them. The Commercial Club, the architects, the engineers. He named them. Chicago knew who was building their city before the first brick was laid. Burnham Civic editorial note

Voters deserve to know who will run their city before they vote. These are the eight positions that determine whether LA rebuilds to a standard or rebuilds by accident.

Spencer's Cabinet Picks

Saved.

Fire Chief

Los Angeles Fire Department

Current Holder

Jaime Moore

Since November 14, 2025

The 20th LAFD Fire Chief. Appointed after Kristin Crowley was fired following the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires. 30-year LAFD veteran. First Spanish-speaking chief. Unanimously confirmed by City Council 12-0.

Controls

~3,400 sworn personnel. 106 stations. $895M annual budget. Commands all fire suppression, emergency medical services, and urban search and rescue for the city.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Search Criteria No clear pick has emerged from Pratt's podcast guest list. Recommendation: a fire-service operator with documented wildfire-readiness reform experience outside LA's command pipeline. The post-Palisades chief should arrive with a record of pre-positioning doctrine and red-flag staffing standards, not a record of internal-LAFD continuity.

The fires of January 2025 killed 31 people and destroyed 16,000 structures. Whoever holds this role sets the rebuild standard and the pre-positioning doctrine for the next event.

Chief of Police

Los Angeles Police Department

Current Holder

Jim McDonnell

Since November 8, 2024

The 59th LAPD Chief. Previously served as LA County Sheriff. Confirmed by Mayor Bass after a national search. Focus on officer morale, recruitment, and crime reduction during a period of significant staffing shortfalls.

Controls

~9,000 sworn officers (authorized). Citywide patrol, detective, and specialized units. Annual budget exceeding $3B. Manages consent decree obligations and LAPD reform commitments.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Recommendation Alex Villanueva. Former LA County Sheriff. Endorsed Pratt at his campaign kickoff. The most senior law-enforcement leader in Pratt's public orbit. Caveat: ran LASD, not LAPD, so confirmation would require a deliberate transition campaign. The alternative is another internal LAPD promotion that does not interrupt the staffing-shortfall pattern.

LAPD is 2,000 officers below its authorized strength. Who leads the department determines whether recruitment recovers and whether the city can sustain the public safety capacity the rebuild requires.

General Manager

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Current Holder

David W. Hanson (Interim)

Interim, effective March 27, 2026

Designated interim after CEO Janisse Quinones resigned to lead LUMA, Puerto Rico's grid operator. Hanson has been LADWP's Chief Operating Officer and Senior Assistant General Manager since August 2024. Over 20 years at the department.

Controls

The largest municipal utility in the United States. 4 million customers. $6B+ annual budget. Controls water delivery and electrical infrastructure across a city that just proved how badly it can fail.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Search Criteria No clear pick has emerged from Pratt's public orbit. Recommendation: a national search prioritizing utility operators with documented post-failure reform records. Newark post-lead and Flint post-2014 produced this profile. Internal LADWP promotion does not interrupt the institutional pattern that produced the Santa Ynez Reservoir failure.

The Palisades Reservoir was reportedly offline during the January fires. DWP controls both the water and the power. This is the single most consequential operational appointment for the rebuild.

City Attorney

Office of the City Attorney

Current Holder

Hydee Feldstein Soto

Since December 12, 2022

First female City Attorney in LA history and the first Latina elected citywide. Leads a team of 1,000+ legal professionals including 550+ attorneys. Up for re-election June 2026.

Controls

All civil litigation involving the city. Prosecutes misdemeanor crimes. Advises the Council and Mayor on legal matters. Negotiates major contracts and settlement agreements. Over $100M annual budget.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Search Criteria No clear pick has emerged from Pratt's public orbit. Recommendation: a litigator with utility-liability and post-disaster insurance-claim experience. The post-Palisades caseload will include subrogation claims, contractor disputes, and code-enforcement actions on a multi-year horizon. Continuation candidates with no documented record on this scale of litigation should be ruled out early.

The rebuild will generate years of litigation: utility liability, contractor disputes, code enforcement. A City Attorney with a clear standard of accountability changes how those cases get resolved.

Executive Director

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)

Current Holder

Gita O'Neill (Interim CEO)

Since August 26, 2025

Former director of homeless policies and strategies for the City Attorney's office. Hired on 12-month interim contract after Va Lecia Adams Kellum stepped down. Overseeing structural transition as LA County builds its own separate homelessness department.

Controls

$800M+ annual budget. Coordinates over 100 contractor organizations providing outreach, shelter, and services. Responsible for the annual homeless count and federal HUD reporting.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Recommendation Nima Nasseri. Featured guest on the April 9 Fame Game episode "The Truth About LA's Homeless Industrial Complex," the exact frame Pratt deploys publicly. Founder of SaveTheDogs.co. An activist/critic profile rather than a continuation operator. The choice signals that LAHSA is being repositioned at the same moment LA County is building its own homelessness department. The hire names the change.

LAHSA is losing its county mandate. The agency either transforms into something that works or it continues spending $800M for outcomes that haven't moved. This hire is the test of whether the new administration is serious.

Chief Executive Officer

LA Metro

Current Holder

Stephanie Wiggins

Since 2021

Contract extended April 2025 with a 20%+ raise to $511,000/year. Board voted 11-0 to keep her through the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games. Reported 53% ridership increase and 87% customer satisfaction.

Controls

$9B+ annual budget. Rail, bus, and active transportation network serving 9.6 million county residents. $23B capital program. Coordinating all transit for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Search Criteria No clear pick has emerged from Pratt's public orbit. Recommendation: an operator with documented Olympics-delivery experience (London 2012, Tokyo 2020/21, Paris 2024) or a national search prioritizing transit chiefs who have closed delivery gaps under hard deadline. The 2028 Games are a forcing function the current succession line has not faced.

The 2028 Olympics is a forcing function. Metro either delivers world-class transit or LA becomes a global embarrassment on a deadline that cannot move. This role determines whether the city is ready.

General Manager and Superintendent of Building

Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)

Current Holder

Osama Younan

Since 2020

33-year LADBS veteran. Appointed by Mayor Garcetti. Has led the department through post-fire permitting surge, implementing self-certification programs to accelerate Palisades rebuild approvals. Engineer, LEED AP.

Controls

All building permits, inspections, and code enforcement for the city. Directly controls the speed of the post-fire rebuild. Over 300,000 permits issued annually. Sets interpretation of building code for all new construction.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Recommendation Chuck Hart. Hart Built Construction. Featured guest on Spencer's podcast for the episode "Rebuilding the Palisades: Frontline and Comeback Story," focused on the permit pipeline and what it actually takes to rebuild fire-affected neighborhoods. The Palisades rebuild needs a GM who has actually pulled permits in fire-recovery conditions. That is rarely true of internal LADBS promotions.

16,000 structures need to be rebuilt. The permit pipeline is the bottleneck. A GM with the authority and willingness to set a Burnham-level construction standard changes what gets built and how fast.

City Administrative Officer

Office of the City Administrative Officer

Current Holder

Matthew W. Szabo

Since approximately 2021

Reports jointly to the Mayor and City Council. Led the city through a $1B budget deficit in FY 2025-26, closing the gap through labor negotiations that avoided mass layoffs. Primary financial and labor advisor to all city leadership.

Controls

City budget preparation and administration. All labor contract negotiations for 40,000+ city employees. Internal audits and management reviews. The financial operating system behind every department on this list.

Spencer's Pick

Burnham Civic Search Criteria No clear pick has emerged from Pratt's public orbit. Recommendation: a strategic finance operator with documented experience closing budget gaps under labor-contract pressure. Szabo closed a $1B FY 25-26 gap through labor negotiations. The next CAO inherits a multi-billion rebuild capital plan against an Olympics deadline. Continuation candidates without a documented record on this scale should be ruled out early.

The CAO holds the purse strings and the labor agreements. A rebuild that is ambitious on paper collapses if the person writing the budget treats it like a normal year. This role is where fiscal strategy becomes operational reality.

Sources: LAFD.org, LAPD Online, LADWPnews.com, cityattorney.lacity.gov, LAHSA.org, LA Metro, LADBS.org, CAO.lacity.gov. Titles and holders verified as of March 2026. All picks save automatically to this browser.