Councilman Jack Weiss was re-election to the Los Angeles Fifth
District City Council Tuesday night in the Los Angeles city
elections.
With about 76 percent of the vote ““ 10,011 votes total
““ Weiss led his challengers David Vahedi and Gregory Martayan
in the polls from the start of the night.
As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Vahedi had 17 percent of the vote and
Martayan had 7 percent, with 13 percent of precincts reporting.
The fifth district includes Westwood, Encino, Sherman Oaks,
Valley Village, Palms, Century City, Beverlywood, the Fairfax
District, Cheviot Hills and the area between the Interstate 405 and
Laurel Canyon.
Weiss, the incumbent councilman, has been a member of the fifth
district community for much of his life.
He said he has been involved in the UCLA community over the past
years, including working with the “UCLA in LA”
initiative set up by Chancellor Albert Carnesale.
During his time on the council, the fifth district saw crime
decrease by 14.5 percent. His track record led him to receive the
support of 20 homeowners’ associations in the district,
including the Westwood Homeowners’ Association, as well as
various environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club.
Though none of the mayoral candidates were able to garner enough
of the vote to win outright ““ the top two candidates will
participate in a run-off election in May ““ the city council
race was not nearly as close.
“The voter turnout was so low that they are not even
tabulating the amount that went to the polls. It doesn’t look
like there will be a runoff,” said Sandy Brown, president of
the Holmby Westwood Homeowners Association, referring to the city
council elections.
“I’m pleased. I thought (Weiss) would do a good job.
I am expecting him to win strongly,” she added.
James Lee, a spokesman for the Vahedi campaign, appeared to be
holding out hope against the long odds stacked against his
candidate.
“Obviously, we are disappointed with the absentee count,
but it is still way too early to see tonight,” he said.
“We have definitely made an impression (on the
voters),” he added.
Members of Weiss’ campaign did not return phone calls
seeking comment late Tuesday night.
Vahedi, 38, who has lived in the fifth district his entire life,
has been active in the community, cofounding the Westside
Neighborhood Council, as well as serving as a board member for the
Santa Monica Homeowners’ Association for the past three
years.
During the campaign, he enjoyed wide support from many
Democratic groups in the district, including Bruin Democrats.
Vahedi had run on a platform in which he planned to develop a
park-and-ride system to ferry commuters from the South Bay and San
Fernando Valley into Westwood and Century City to decrease traffic
on I-405.
Though only 21 years old, Martayan has worked on many
commissions and boards over the past several years, including the
Los Angeles Commission for Children, Youth and their Families and
Children Stand for Children, a program developed to build
connections and collaboration between at-risk youth and other
children who want to help.
He said he has many connections to student groups at UCLA, and
had said he hopes those bonds would grow stronger with his election
to the city council.
Students at UCLA who are registered to vote in Los Angeles were
encouraged to vote in this election by faculty as well as other
students, though voter turnout in the election was notably low.
“Since it’s a privilege, I think we should go out
and vote, though sometimes we don’t know all the
facts,” said Alfonso Duenas, a second-year English
student.
Throughout the campaign, candidates launched attacks on each
others’ credibility, and questioned each other’s
abilities to be effective councilmembers.
Weiss was accused by Vahedi of giving preferential treatment to
housing developers such as Casden Properties, allowing them to
pursue large-scale projects instead of working for the interests of
homeowners, and failing to get the district its share of new police
officers.
Casden Properties is involved in the construction of the $100
million Palazzo Westwood, a new retail development in Westwood
Village on Glendon Avenue.
Some have accused Weiss of approving the project because Alan
Casden contributed to Weiss’ campaign.
Martayan, though seen as “bright, articulate” and
“a genuinely nice guy” by Vahedi, faced criticism for
his lack of experience due to his youth.
Both Weiss and Vahedi have had more time to work with public
policy.
Vahedi drew heat from some Democrats, including Jeff Daar, an
elected member of the Los Angeles Democratic Party and chairman of
the San Fernando Democratic Party, who criticized Vahedi’s
“personal attacks,” deeming them not “warranted
or appropriate.”