Alexandra Tashman: A tough race to rejuvenate Los Angeles

I’ve lived in Los Angeles my whole life and I’m proud to call myself an Angeleno. I’ve spent years traipsing around this city, learning bus routes and back ways, discovering new restaurants and shops, climbing from one side of the hill to the other.

Clearly, I have an investment in the Los Angeles mayoral race.

While not every UCLA student is an Angeleno, for the four-or-so years they’re here, students rely on this city. The air quality, the public transportation, the potholes and sidewalks – every student is affected by the caliber of the amenities offered, permanent resident or otherwise.

Monday night, the top five mayoral candidates – City Councilman Eric Garcetti, City Controller Wendy Greuel, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin James, City Councilwoman Jan Perry and former Treasury Department advisor Emanuel Pleitez – faced off in a debate in UCLA’s Royce Hall.

There are many reasons for UCLA students to invest their time and energy in the mayoral race, but perhaps the most relevant is how the results will potentially benefit or harm Westwood Village.

A renovated and livelier Westwood area is well within grasp. Furthermore, the mayor’s office has the ability to affect that change, said Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council.

The mayor has the ability to affect the quality and quantity of resources afforded to local libraries and parks, but can also make changes that residents respond negatively to, such as Mayor Villaraigosa’s failed attempt to privatize a large public parking garage on Broxton Avenue, Sann said.

In terms of encouraging more people to come into Westwood, particularly at night, one suggestion offered by Sann would be to allow Westwood control over the length of time allowed by its parking meters. Because the limit is two hours, and meters are active until midnight on weekends, visitors from other parts of the city cannot easily go to dinner and a movie without risking a parking ticket.

The office of the mayor can also allot funding to keep street quality high, and manage the budget for city-wide fire and safety departments.

While there are plenty of empty storefronts in Westwood, the area is far from needing a complete overhaul like the one Garcetti undertook in Hollywood nearly ten years ago, his most widely recognized achievement.

But Westwood is certainly not the hot spot it was in the 1980s. Other Westside communities, including Brentwood and Santa Monica, have begun to dominate the scene, and business is slowly but surely moving away.

Given the active population of students and the relatively wealthy surrounding community sitting just up the street from the Village, there is no reason the area should be on the slide.

The main restriction that limits nightlife in Westwood Village is the citywide public dancing code – on the books since 1946 according to Sann – which requires a “dancehall” permit. Because the city can place restrictions on permits, like requiring dancing spaces to be open to only those 21 and over, proprietors are discouraged from opening dancing venues in Westwood because three-quarters of likely student customers are under the age of 21. As such, UCLA’s student population will often head out of Westwood for a night out.

As students, we have the power to bring Westwood to the mayor’s attention.

Problems in the Westwood area are often overlooked by the mayor’s office because larger or more dangerous areas often need more immediate attention. By voting both for Los Angeles City Council and mayor and by actively calling and writing officials, students can effectively highlight changes needed to improve the Westwood area.

The mayor’s office can make this rejuvenation a reality.

Unfortunately, mayoral elections have notoriously low turnout rates. Given that most students are not originally Los Angeles residents, an even lower student turnout rate can be assumed.
However, the majority of UCLA students can vote in the mayoral election. As long as you’re a California resident registered in the city of Los Angeles – whether it’s with your address in a residence hall, an off-campus apartment or as a commuter student – you are eligible to vote in the mayoral election.

“This is the city you live in, the air you breathe, the water you drink and the traffic you’re stuck in,” said Garcetti.

“Whether they’re looking for jobs or housing, UCLA students want a better quality of life here.”

Email Tashman at atashman@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to opinion@media.ucla.edu or tweet us @DBOpinion.