http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14212845

The announced retirement of county Assessor Rick Auerbach has set off a little flurry of political speculation over potential candidates to replace him.

And, although the Board of Supervisors could appoint an interim assessor, it appears the sentiment is to allow Assistant Assessor Robert Quon, who has no interest in running for the job, to serve in the post until a new assessor is elected.

Several deputy assessors, as they have in the past, are expected to run for the job, but the frontrunner so far is Juan (John) Noguez, 45, a Huntington Park city councilman for six years and a deputy in the Assessor's Office.

Supervisor Gloria Molina, who is chairwoman of the board this year, said she does not want the board to appoint someone to give them a leg up in the race.

"It would put us on the spot, but it looks unfair if we name someone to the job," Molina said.

She said she is talking to a number of people who are interested in the job, with Noguez at the top of her list.

"He started there as a student worker and has dedicated his whole life to the job and he's very excited about running," Molina said.

Auerbach said he will make an endorsement in the coming weeks.

Noguez has worked for the Assessor's Office more than 20 years, with a specialty in major office buildings.

As a Huntington Park council member, he has served as that city's mayor and as president of the League of California Cities.

Those cries you hear from Los Angeles City Hall these days are from anguished department heads faced with being shut down and employee unions being squeezed for more concessions.

With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa expected to come out soon with a plan for more cuts in the face of a $400 million shortfall, the bad news is being delivered now to agencies to prepare for more cuts - or elimination.

The new Human Services Department - composed of the former Human Relations Commission, Commission on Children, Youth and Families and the Commission on the Status of Women - is once again on the chopping block.

The three panels, 33 members in all, however, are not expected to go quietly into the night. Each has strong constituencies who are expected to pressure the City Council to allow them to continue.

In actuality, their total budget is about $1 million, but the elimination would send a message on the seriousness of the city's financial problems.

More important to the mayor is trying to win some union concessions on being able to shift employees around to various jobs.

The early retirement program in effect has created a number of key job losses, particularly among sanitation workers. The mayor wants to be able to train and shift other workers from jobs slated for elimination.

City Controller Wendy Greuel released two critical audits of city agencies last week and she made clear that she ain't no Laura Chick.

Former Controller Chick was known for a combative public relations flair with her audits, often putting her at odds with department heads and other elected officials.

In contrast, Greuel invited the heads of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Information Technology Agency - the subjects of her audits - to take part in the news conference releasing the reports.

"As you see, in all my press conferences, I have included the general manager to recognize it is a partnership and to make sure these things get done," Greuel said.

Rick Orlov is a Daily News staff writer. His column, Tipoff, appears on Mondays. for a daily fix on politics, go to the Sausage Factory at www.insidesocal.com/politics. Contact him at rick.orlov@dailynews.com or 213-978-0390.