The Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia encouraged young people to get involved in politics and use social media as a political tool at a Wednesday UCLA event.

The Q&A, organized by the office of Undergraduate Students Association Council President Diego Bollo, drew about 30 attendees. Mejia, the city’s controller, said in a speech that he acts as accountant for the City of LA and is responsible for the financial and performance audits of every city department.

Mejia began his political career after quitting his hedge fund job to run for Congress as a write-in candidate in 2016. Mejia did not win, but said his political pursuits led him to find work with the LA Tenants Union, which advocates for tenants and affordable housing.

His work in advocacy and experience as an auditor made him curious about how city funds are allocated and spent, he said.

“Everything you do, the world you live around you, is because of policies and funding that the government has made a priority,” Mejia said in an interview.

Mejia said in his speech that social media was a valuable tool for fundraising and recruiting volunteers when he was running for controller. It also helped get people to join local tenants unions and homelessness outreach teams, he added.

“Social media is the reason why I’m in office,” Mejia said. “It allows you to communicate with people you’ll never meet ever before and allows you to organize.”

Mejia said in a speech that his office provides recommendations along with his audit results. He added in an interview that his biggest power as city controller is his ability to promote financial transparency.

While the controller does not directly set LA budgets, Mejia’s office’s data can highlight tradeoffs, he said. Mejia’s office has an online “Your City” budget tool, which allows constituents to create a proposed budget for the City of LA and submit it to their council member, he said in his speech.

Mejia said his office’s budget limits the number of audits he can perform annually. It also prevents him from hiring more than five staffers, he added, which made it difficult to address the 700 fraud claims he received in 2025.

“This position is naturally adversarial,” Mejia said. “No matter how many officials I’m close with or I’m an ally with, there’s going to be a time where I have to call out something. It’s not going to be good for them, obviously. But that’s the hard part.”

The Mayor’s office and City Council set Mejia’s budget. Mejia, however, said his office is pushing for an independent budget – set as a fixed portion of the city budget – in the new city charter, as well as the ability to audit city programs created by elected officials.

Arelys Placido, the external head of staff for Bollo’s office, said she organized the event to encourage student involvement in local politics. Placido, a fourth-year public affairs student, added that attendees learned about the city controller’s role and other political involvement opportunities in LA.

Anna Kawachi, a fourth-year African American studies student, said she attended the event because of Mejia’s social media posts condemning LA’s police budget and liability payouts.

Kawachi said she appreciated Mejia’s positive attitude and how he personally thanked each attendee.

“I thought it was really intimate,” Kawachi said. “Him showing up and actually having a one-on-one, smaller-setting, conversation with us was really highly effective. I learned so much tonight – I was taking notes like I was in class.”

Mejia said he encourages students to attend local government meetings and speak at public comment about their concerns.

Young people, he added, are often a source of change.

“It’s very important for you all to get involved, especially the youth,” Mejia said in a speech. “One thing that I’ve learned is that the elected officials are scared of young people.”