And now the student becomes the teacher.

Maybe. Neighborhood development watchdog Cary Brazeman, a real pain in the ass for City Hall, tells us he filed to run for City Controller.

That doesn't mean he won't still be a thorn in the side of the City Council: The gig allows its officeholder to audit call kinds of city finances.

He'll face …

… San Fernando Valley City Councilman Dennis Zine in the 2013 city election. Zine is a reserve cop and apparent lover of lobbyists.

Under his group L.A. Neighbors United Brazeman has been a critic of City Hall's dense-development policies and has questioned the financial impact of a proposed NFL stadium downtown.

Strangely, he comes from corporate development: He once headed corporate communications for L.A.-based real estate giant CB Richard Ellis.

Sounding a little occupational, Brazeman says this on his campaign site:

As City Controller, I will champion core services (public safety, streets, sidewalks, water, power, trees, parks, libraries) … the fundamentals of a livable city. I will work to ensure corporations that do business in our city play by the rules, including providing equal access for all Angelenos to financial services. I will offer my office to coordinate the city's response to the foreclosure crisis, which still threatens our neighborhoods and our people.

[Added]: Brazeman tells us he hopes to raise between a half a million and a million bucks, all without tapping for-profit corporations or unions. And he vows to make his staffers “live in the city.”

How would he check development from the City Controller's seat?

I can use the bully pulpit of the Contoller's office to advocate for more coordinated land use and transportation planning. I can look at that from a performance level and offer recommendations on how to do it better.

Brazeman, a mild mannered guy, said he would save his ammo against Zine for later, but took the opportunity to say this:

The city is laying off employees while Dennis Zine is living high on the hog, drawing a salary and collecting a pension [from his full-time cop days]. There's something wrong with this picture. I'm prepared to be a reformer on the inside. He's part of the problem.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.