A heartfelt thanks to Ginny

Ginny Kruger's decades of public service add up to an incredible legacy. She will be missed.

For this week’s blog, I’m going to take a break from the usual policy discussion to share some personal thoughts about someone very close to me who is retiring from my office. It’s never easy to say goodbye, but this departure is especially difficult.

Ginny Kruger joined my City Council staff in 1977, barely two years after I was first elected at the age of 26. And now, after 35 years–throughout nearly my entire career in public life–she is taking a well-earned retirement to spend more time with her family (including her wonderful grandchildren) and to indulge her wanderlust and her passion for culture and the arts.

So let me take this opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude the invaluable assistance I’ve had from Ginny over the years. She has been much more than a loyal staff member, trusted adviser and close personal friend. A more ardent and dedicated champion of the arts and preservation of the environment will not be found anywhere. Ginny has advised me, represented me and advocated for me on arts matters since I first assumed county office in 1994. She has had a guiding hand in virtually every major policy and financial aspect of arts policy and arts-related capital projects during my entire tenure.

For many years, Ginny also superbly managed one of the most challenging policy portfolios of any deputy in the Fifth Council District or Third Supervisorial District: planning, development and land use. Additionally, when I was elected as a county supervisor and assumed responsibility for the Santa Monica Mountains, she quarterbacked all of our efforts on the acquisition and preservation of precious open space.

Ginny played a key role in working out the complex logistics that have allowed our state and federal parks agencies to save literally thousands of acres of irreplaceable coastal and mountain properties to protect natural habitats and preserve those lands for the enjoyment and appreciation of future generations. Without her expert knowledge and tireless dedication, I hate to think how much would otherwise have been lost.

As a steward of the arts, and our arts institutions, she is without peer. Walt Disney Concert Hall, the renovations at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, the major improvements at the Hollywood Bowl (including replacement of its iconic shell with a stylish, state-of-the-art update), the extensive improvements throughout the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus–all these owe a great deal to Ginny’s passionate and tireless dedication.

I wish her the very best for a healthy, happy and fulfilling retirement. And though she will remain involved as my representative on several public commissions, we will deeply miss her dedicated work on a daily basis on behalf of so many worthy causes we cherish so much. Thanks for everything, Ginny – and let this not be farewell, but au revoir!

Posted 6/14/12