Carol Baker Tharp, whom Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hired this year to oversee the city's neighborhood council system, died Sunday morning at her home, according to the mayor's press office. She was 55.
Baker Tharp was appointed general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment in February but went on medical leave in September to battle a particularly aggressive recurrence of breast cancer.
"Her integrity, intelligence, compassion and humor will be missed," Villaraigosa said in a prepared statement. "Though we mourn her passing today, we take comfort in the fact that her work and ideas will continue to yield positive benefits for the people of Los Angeles."
The mayor directed the city to fly its flags at half-staff. His press office also said BongHwan Kim, assistant general manager of the neighborhoods department, will serve as its interim chief.
Baker Tharp came to the city from USC, where she had been deputy director of the Civic Engagement Initiative at the School of Policy, Planning and Development for four years.
At USC, Baker Tharp headed a project to map neighborhood involvement throughout the region. She was also a former executive director of Coro Southern California, an organization that promotes leadership in young professionals.
The city's neighborhood councils system was authorized by voters in 1999 and set up by the City Council in 2001. It has been plagued at times by low participation, infighting and the inability of some City Council members to get along with or listen to the local elected councils. In September, a commission appointed to look at the neighborhood council system issued a list of 73 recommendations to fix the system and improve participation.
There also have been problems regarding the city department that oversees the neighborhood councils, the city funds that the councils are given and neighborhood council elections.
Baker Tharp was the third general manager of that agency in six years, and the job had been filled with an interim chief for nearly 11 months when Villaraigosa offered it to her in February.
Upon her hiring, Baker Tharp said she intended to focus on getting councils to achieve results in their neighborhoods. In particular, she didn't want neighborhood council members -- especially council leaders -- to overstep their roles.
