Calls for Reforms to Make LA More Business Friendly, Reduce Red Tape and Bureaucracy
Los Angeles — One day after the primary election, Wendy Greuel met with business leaders in the San Fernando Valley and toured WET Design, an innovative water and design firm that Greuel helped locate in the Valley as a City Councilwoman, to highlight the importance of creating jobs and reducing bureaucracy for LA firms.
WET has invented a variety of new green technologies and designed some of the most famous fountains in the world, including the Fountains of Bellagio and the world's largest fountain, the Dubai Fountain.
When the company sought to open a larger facility in Sun Valley so it could expand its business in 2008, Greuel was instrumental in helping cut red tape and secure approval from the City. The company now employs 165 workers.
WET also sought to build a permeable, environmentally friendly parking lot for its new campus, which would save water and make the company more sustainable. When several City departments balked, Greuel helped WET secure the permits it needed to build the parking lot.
"As mayor, I will be focused every day on attracting businesses and helping the ones that are already here so we can create jobs and grow our economy," Greuel said. "I'll be a mayor for all of Los Angeles, and that means making sure LA is a great place to do business. It means cutting red tape and bureaucracy so business owners can spend less time tracking down permits and more time helping their customers. And it means making sure that innovative firms like WET have the resources it needs to keep designing the green technologies of the 21st century — and that they're doing it here in LA."
"Wendy Greuel has spent her career fighting for business owners and entrepreneurs, and she understands that when businesses succeed, Los Angeles wins," said Stuart Waldman, President of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. "On the City Council, she championed business tax reform, and as mayor she'll fight to make the Valley and all of Los Angeles a global destination for businesses."
"We need elected leaders like Wendy Greuel to help firms cut through the bureaucratic ted tape that stunts innovation and job growth in LA," said Mark Fuller, co-owner of WET. "Just as businesses serve the needs of their customers, City Hall should focus more on helping companies succeed. As a small business owner and a former DreamWorks executive, Wendy understands that, and as mayor she'll fight for firms like ours."
The group toured WET's Idea Playground, where the firm tests and researches green technologies.