When voters in Los Angeles’ 5th District go to the polls
March 8, David Vahedi hopes they will choose him for city
councilman because he loves working with the community.
“I really am having the time of my life,” Vahedi
said of his time campaigning. “My wife and I go door-to-door
and it is the best part of our day.”
Vahedi is competing with the incumbent councilman Jack Weiss and
Greg Martayan, a businessman.
The district is home to over 258,000 people in Encino, Sherman
Oaks, Valley Village, Palms, Westwood, Century City, Beverlywood,
the Fairfax District, Cheviot Hills and Carthay Circle and the area
between the 405 freeway and Laurel Canyon.
Vahedi has lived in the 5th District all his life. Born in Santa
Monica, he went to elementary school in Westwood, high school at
Santa Monica High School and law school at Loyola Marymount
University.
Vahedi is no stranger to local politics. A 38-year-old attorney
who cofounded the Westside Neighborhood Council, he was an officer
for the Westside Democratic Club, and he has served as a board
member for the Santa Monica Homeowners’ Association for the
last three years.
He decided to enter the city council race because he was
frustrated with Jack Weiss, the incumbent city councilman.
Vahedi accused Weiss of taking contributions from big developers
such as Casden Properties and allowing them to build large projects
instead of siding with homeowners, failing to get the district its
fair share of new police officers, and being unresponsive to the
needs of the community.
“When you are a city councilman you have to love the
potholes, the tree trimming, the everyday quality of life issues,
the kind of things he has ignored,” Vahedi said.
Vahedi is endorsed by several Democratic groups in the district,
including Bruin Democrats. But not all his supporters are
Democrats, and not all Democrats are his supporters.
Stuart Siegel, the Republican councilman for Hidden Hills, met
Vahedi while Vahedi was in law school and working for the State
Board of Equalization. Siegel said he was impressed with
Vahedi’s hard work.
“I think the district could do a lot better than it is
doing with the current councilman,” Siegel said.
“I think (Vahedi) will be a lot more attentive to the
needs of the community,” he said. “I think that is his
asset, that he actually enjoys walking around the district,
knocking on doors, and listening to people.”
Vahedi’s Democratic supporters include the California
Democratic Council, San Fernando Valley Democratic Women’s
Club and several Democratic clubs on the West Side of town. But
Weiss has been endorsed by the official branch of the Democratic
Party in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Democratic Club, an
umbrella organization of 25 Democratic clubs on the West Side and
in the Valley.
Jeff Daar, an elected member of the Los Angeles Democratic Party
and chair of the San Fernando Democratic Party, said his
organizations are endorsing Weiss because he has been an effective
councilman who has been strong on responsible growth and
environmental issues.
As evidence, Daar cited the endorsements Weiss has received from
the presidents of 20 homeowners’ associations, including the
Westwood Homeowners’ Association and environmental groups
such as the Sierra Club.
Daar was not impressed by Vahedi’s criticisms of
Weiss.
“David Vahedi should be sticking to the issues. I
don’t think personal attacks are warranted or
appropriate,” Daar said.
Although he and Weiss are both Democrats, Vahedi said Weiss has
not taken action on what he sees as two of the most important
issues facing the district ““ traffic and crime.
To deal with the traffic problem, Vahedi said if he was elected
he would create a park-and-ride system to ferry commuters from the
San Fernando Valley and the South Bay area to Westwood and Century
City to decrease traffic on the 405.
And Vahedi said he would attack the problem of rising crime
““ though crime has decreased in Los Angeles, thefts and
burglaries have increased in some parts of the 5th District ““
by fighting to get the 5th District its share of Los Angeles’
police officers and by revising the city’s burglar alarm
policy.
Under the current system there is a $115 fine for false alarms,
and the fine escalates $50 to $100 for each additional false alarm.
Vahedi said he would like to see the proceeds from these fines go
back to the LAPD to pay for more police officers.
But Vahedi has plans for more than traffic and crime.
He works as a pro bono attorney for the Friends of Animals
organization in Los Angeles, and says the city could save millions
of dollars and the lives of hundreds of dogs by selling them to
nonprofit groups at reduced prices ($5 or $10 instead of the
current $37). He said euthanizing animals costs the city $108 per
animal. Vahedi said the plan could save millions of dollars per
year.