Bob Cendejas is tied to Los Angeles, for good.

He demonstrated that recently by joining Ernst & Young LLP as partner of the firm’s sales and use, excise and gross receipts practice for the Pacific Southwest area.

It was a career move, he said, that was undertaken specifically to remain in Los Angeles.

At his previous job as tax counsel at Texaco Refining & Manufacturing Inc., “I would have had to move to Houston to advance in the company, and that was out of the question.”

Cendejas didn’t want to leave behind a “close-knit family” his parents and grandparents live within five miles of his own family’s home.

For the past three generations, his family has been rooted here. His grandfather worked for the Union Pacific Railroad, and his father was vice president at H.M. Lukens Inc., a construction company in Los Angeles.

Cendejas hopes his own three young children will continue the tradition by setting their roots here someday.

Cendejas spent his childhood here in Los Angeles even up through his college years, earning his accounting degree from USC and his law degree from Loyola Law School.

His family ties to Los Angeles, he explained, helped fuel his desire to help Los Angeles.

In addition to his duties at Ernst & Young, he’s involved with many associations, one of which is the Los Angeles County Taxpayers Association.

He heads up the organization as president. The association’s goal is to create an attractive environment for businesses by reducing business license taxes to a level that is competitive with other cities.

He views high business license taxes as an obstacle to enhancing the economy of Los Angeles.

“We have a stake in the future of this city,” he said. “Any improvement in the opportunity in the city will increase my children’s opportunity.”

–Chris Denina