(CityWatch Staff Report) 

Mayor Villaraigosa today took the unusual step of announcing not just his nominee to be the new general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, but the new assistant general manager as well.

The mayor selected Dr. Carol Baker Tharp to head the department, and Bong Hwan Kim as her assistant, starting March 12.
 

For 12 years, Tharp was executive director of Coro, one of the oldest and most prestigious leadership education organizations in the United States.  Currently, she serves as the deputy director of the Civic Engagement Initiative at the University of Southern California.  

Kim is the executive director of the Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services, and was recently appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to serve on the Neighborhood Council Review Commission.  Prior to this he was the executive director of the Multi-cultural Collaborative and the Korean Youth and Community Center in Los Angeles.

The mayor said that Tharp and Kim were his top two choices, as they were of those who served on the interview panels, which included members of Neighborhood Councils.

Tharp said it was time to turn the emphasis from process and toward the nurturing of the Neighborhood Councils, and toward helping to fulfill the empowerment vision.

One of her first projects will be to start a “listening tour” of Neighborhood Councils.