Los Angeles Councilman Jack Weiss ““ who represents
Westwood, much of the Westside and parts of the San Fernando Valley
““ announced Feb. 2 that he intends to run for city
attorney.
Weiss’ plans to run for higher office hinge on how current
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo fares in his 2007 bid for state
attorney. If Delgadillo wins, Weiss said he would run in a special
election that would likely be next year, two years before his
second term as city councilman ends. If Delgadillo loses, Weiss
said he would run in 2009, when Delgadillo’s term ends.
“I’m running because I’ve been a
prosecutor,” Weiss, a former federal prosecutor, told the Los
Angeles Times. “I know what it means to look a defendant and
jury in the eye and I want to be in a law enforcement
position.”
Weiss’ announcement last week left some Westwood business
owners feeling jilted.
“It’s exactly what I thought he was going to do all
along,” said Philip Gabriel, owner of Scrubs Unlimited on
Weyburn Avenue. “He’s using this district as a stepping
stone to higher office. He has no major investment emotionally to
the Westside.”
Sandy Brown, president of Holmby-Westwood Property Owners
Association, said replacing Weiss after the councilman’s
premature departure would slow city services “”mdash; like tree
trimming and sidewalk repair.
“It often takes years until the district gets enough money
to get it done and for a new councilperson there’s a learning
curve,” Brown said.
Weiss has often acted as an ally to local homeowners during his
five years in office,
Last year, the second-term councilman helped pass a regulation
lowering the heights of new buildings on Wilshire Boulevard in
Westwood to six stories.
Weiss also pushed the Palazzo Westwood development, a pet
project of Westwood homeowners currently being constructed on
Glendon and Weyburn avenues near Ralphs.
The plot will eventually hold 350 new residential units and
50,000 square feet of retail space, Brown said.
“His staff is on top of things,” Brown said.
“They’re usually very conscious about issues we
have.”
Weiss’ relationship with Westwood merchants has not been
as chummy, as the councilman has come under fire for doing little
to develop the Village.
“He hasn’t done anything to improve the quality of
living in the Westside. He hasn’t helped the merchants one
iota,” Gabriel said.
Though he pushed for the multi-level parking garage on Broxton
Avenue, Weiss has taken criticism for not doing enough to alleviate
the Village’s parking shortage.
No one at Weiss’ office was available for comment
Monday.
Former state Assembly speaker and mayoral candidate Bob
Hertzberg also announced his intention to run for city attorney
Feb. 2.
The former lawyer rose to city-wide prominence last year when he
challenged current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
After being edged out of the runoff election by then-incumbent
mayor Jim Hahn, Hertzberg joined forces with his former roommate
Villaraigosa and played a major role in the newly elected
mayor’s transition team.
Weiss, a relative unknown compared to Hertzberg, won re-election
last March in a landslide.
His district includes Westwood, Century City, Encino, Sherman
Oaks, Valley Village and the Fairfax District.