MAIYA HOLLIDAY UCLA alumnus and congressional hopeful
Kevin Feldman speaks of his views on the election
and the problems he sees facing the city
By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Staff
Bill Simon won the Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday
without ever having held elected office. But UCLA alumnus Kevin
Feldman wasn’t as fortunate after hanging up his business
suit for a chance in politics.
Feldman, who lost the Democratic primary for the 30th
Congressional District, shared how being a UCLA and Harvard
graduate and Charles Schwab vice president led him to attempt the
impossible ““ dethroning 28-year incumbent and Congress
cornerstone Henry “Bulldog” Waxman.
“The longer politicians stay in office, especially in
California where they have to travel to Washington, it’s more
difficult for them to be authentic representatives of their
communities, because how in touch can they be?” Feldman
said.
Feldman worked diligently from campaign headquarters atop the
17th floor on Glendon Avenue. But the office looked more like a New
Age art gallery with futuristic chairs and a full-service kitchen.
It was everything a 34-year-old candidate for US congress needs
““ except experience, according to Scott Svonkin, spokesman
for Assemblyman Paul Koretz.
“The one thing he failed to understand is that voters want
experienced leaders … Nobody’s going to beat a Henry Waxman
who is a longtime public servant,” he said, adding he
considered Feldman’s attempt to take on Waxman foolish.
“For someone like Feldman to run against Congressman
Waxman, it’s a joke. He needs to go out and spend time
working with the public community,” he continued.
At the very least, Svonkin said, Feldman’s run was
hopeless, and at the most, inappropriate.
Svonkin said he instead subscribes to the traditional method of
earning voters ““ by working in campaigns that will yield
experience, building a network of personal relationships, and
helping others.
“The only 34-year-old working in government was named
Kennedy,” he said.
Ironically, in June of 2000, Feldman took an educational
sabbatical from his job as vice president at Charles Schwab in
order to attend Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of
Government.
He specialized in how government agencies could learn from the
private sector, especially in their use of innovative technologies
to solve problems and provide better, faster and more efficient
services to citizens.
His experience in business offered him a valuable perspective on
government and policy making, which he tried to incorporate into
his campaign, he said.
“In the business world you figure out the possible
solutions and eventually you’ll get there,” Feldman
said. “But in the political world, too much time is spent
discussing problems rather than solving them.”
He also cited the art of negotiation as a key role in any field
that is especially useful in politics.
The academic world complicates this process by spending too much
time analyzing those problems and still not enough time on the
solution, he added.
Feldman said when he went out to get signatures prior to the
election ““ part of the mandatory election process ““
many of the people he spoke with could not tell him one thing that
Waxman had done to help them.
“There have been problems here for a long time ““
congestion and parking problems ““ that we’ve known
about since the ’70s. Why can’t we fix that?”
Feldman said.
He also listed K-12 education in Los Angeles as another example
of a series of failed policy endeavors that has been around for
decades.
Svonkin, who works closely with Waxman, said this scenario is
more likely due to uninformed voters than a lack of action by
Waxman, but added Waxman is probably more disconnected than he once
was from his district.
Feldman said college students could be one possible solution to
many of these issues. He encouraged students to get more involved
on city-wide planning commissions and traffic boards.
“Students shouldn’t just look at their time at
school as a stepping stone, but something they can contribute to,
even if they won’t see the immediate benefit,” he
said.
Svonkin and Feldman said they both advocate greater political
and community involvement as the keys to getting involved in
politics later in life.
“There are things that you learn when you’re
involved in student politics, such as patience and how to interact
with people and learn how to get things done through the collective
action of a small group of people,” Feldman said.
Both also agreed that there are always internships available for
college students at the state and city council levels that can
provide the foundation for any political career.
“Most workers on an elected official’s staff come
from people who work on their campaign,” Svonkin said.
Khoi Bui, a third-year political science student, worked for
Feldman as a public relations intern.
Even though he said he learned a lot from working on a campaign,
he decided the political life is one he wants to stay away
from.
“Just seeing him work so hard, he was there every single
day, you don’t understand how much they go through,” he
said. “They’re always in the spotlight, especially if
it’s election season.”