“You can search and filter every single item that we’ve purchased, every dollar that we’ve dispersed,” he said. Transparency and AccountabilityĪmong Galperin’s notable accomplishments as controller in Los Angeles is the creation of a data dashboard itemizing all city expenditures for the last 10 years. If elected, Galperin says he plans to create a “strike team” to audit state, county, and municipal spending on homelessness within 60 days of taking office. Specifically, Galperin’s 2022 analysis found that projects were taking from three to six years to complete and costs had increased to an average of $596,846 per unit, with 14% of units exceeding $700,000 and one project topping $800,000. Galperin conducted audits and issued reports in 2019, 2020 and this year, flagging rising costs and sluggish development. Galperin cites his experience with Proposition HHH, approved by Los Angeles voters in 2016 to allow city officials to borrow as much as $1.2 billion to reduce homelessness by buying or developing property and remodeling supportive housing and facilities. Taking it on means looking at state spending - specifically the $12 billion approved last year to address homelessness - and whether the money is achieving results. “If we want people to come to California, if we want them to stay, if we want them to invest in California, we’ve got to much better address this problem.” Galperin sees the controller post as a way to take on what he calls an “existentialist” and “humanitarian” crisis facing California: housing affordability and homelessness. Here are five key takeaways from the conversation: Housing Is Key “I think what we need is somebody to step into this role, who actually knows what it is that they are doing.” “I’m the only one who’s running for this office who has spent the last nine years as a controller, and who’s actually done this day after day,” Galperin said in an interview with CalMatters.