Daily Bruin

Josh Trifunovich

A North Westwood Neighborhood Council business stakeholder should have the business know-how and local connections to effect change in Westwood.

Josh Trifunovich, owner of Rocco’s Tavern, has that.

This board endorses Trifunovich for a business stakeholder position on the NWWNC because of his essential business voice and experience working in Westwood. He clearly knows how to handle his business – and the board believes he’ll help others manage theirs.

His platforms prioritize engaging with the Westwood community, honing in on the council’s messaging in particular. He wants to send word that Westwood is open to business and that the NWWNC is more inviting than its crankier predecessor, the Westwood Neighborhood Council.

He plans to do this by pushing for the council to create more business-friendly policies and support new businesses opening in the area. He also wants to pass around newsletters with relevant information to owners, which would help develop relationships in the Village.

And Trifunovich has the experience to pull these goals off, serving as an NWWNC member and chairing the outreach and communication committee.

He has also seen the perils the WWNC posed to business, has worked in the Village and knows the importance of communication in shaping the future of Westwood.

Westwood is only just beginning to become a place where businesses have the possibility to thrive.

Trifunovich is someone who can lay out the welcome mat.

Kevin Crummy

Kevin Crummy is a lukewarm candidate.

He has business acumen and familiarity with Westwood Village’s residential and commercial problems. As the treasurer of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, he knows how to manage money and how zoning regulations convolute an already convoluted land use system.

But he has a crass way of talking about some of Westwood’s problems. He’s dismissive of criticisms surrounding low voter turnout at recent neighborhood council elections. He has a distinct dislike for high-rises in Westwood – an outdated ideology, considering the need and prevalence of high-density development in Los Angeles.

And yet Crummy is an endorsable candidate for business stakeholder on the North Westwood Neighborhood Council. His ideas include increasing development that’ll strengthen diversity of opinion in the council. He said he does not want there to just be development for the sake of development, but that there should be targeted growth with stakeholder consensus.

As the chief investment officer of real estate company Douglas Emmett, he has the expertise to know how regulations can work against businesses and wants to identify key development areas that would receive the least pushback.

Crummy’s ambivalence won’t help the council improve in its outreach, but his experience makes up for it. The Village has a business and housing problem – and he’s prepared to fix it.

Alex Helmi

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council needs somebody who can mind their business – literally.

Alex Helmi can do that. In fact, he already has.

Helmi has been a Westwood business owner for nearly four decades – and he’s seen it all. He knows what Westwood can be like when it’s a place businesses thrive, and he also knows all too well what an overly critical council can do to make them fail.

Helmi, the owner of Damoka Rugs, wants to extend sidewalks to make Westwood Village more pedestrian friendly, update the Westwood Village Specific Plan to make it easier for businesses to open and create a nurturing environment for fledgling businesses.

He doesn’t have the specifics for this; but he wields a bravado about these plans that stems from his close relationships inside and outside the Village. He should put that confidence to good use by ironing out a game plan for building the Westwood he wants to see.

The board endorses Helmi as business stakeholder on the NWWNC for his years of experience and ideas for helping the Village grow.

Westwood has a lot of problems – and he’s not intent on sweeping them under the rug.

Amir Tarighat

No-nonsense leaders are hard to come by. But Amir Tarighat is the voice of reason Westwood desperately needs.

The board endorses Tarighat for at-large stakeholder in the North Westwood Neighborhood Council for his experience in event planning and handling the business logistics of such community engagement.

We shouldn’t forget Tarighat was the matter-of-fact councilmember when news broke that the NWWNC’s “Next Friday” event had floundered, wasting more than $1,000. Tarighat’s attempts to save the affair, such as establishing a complete event proposal and understanding the steps necessary to host an event with the city, prove he understands how Westwood works better than the committee that tried to roll out the event does.

Tarighat, who is currently council treasurer, doesn’t just bring hindsight about “Next Friday” to the table. His platform is to remove some of the city’s red tape, unnecessary bureaucracy that prevents businesses from coming to Westwood. He also wants to create an inviting atmosphere in Westwood Village for businesses by interfacing with them through events and programs.

But beyond this, Tarighat emphasizes a need for inclusivity on the council – between business holders, students, homeowners and renters. For example, he plans to use the NWWNC’s outreach committee to give community members a space to participate in local government without alienating one another – something that has happened all too often in the past.

For half a year, Tarighat was actively working to breathe life back into Westwood and put out fires on the NWWNC. That refreshingly firm persona should earn him another term on the council.

Zahra Hajee

After a stint studying abroad, Zahra Hajee is back in Westwood – and vying for a seat on the North Westwood Neighborhood Council.

Her ideas are encouraging. She hopes to work on pedestrian- and bike-friendly projects and to extend the undergraduate student government’s physical accessibility plans to Westwood. She also wants to improve the community’s sustainability through initiatives like introducing recycling bins to the area.

She also plans to work on establishing the council’s prominence and influence in the community and with local politicians by working proactively on issues like the Metro Purple Line Extension and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Hajee’s experience as the Undergraduate Students Association Council Facilities commissioner in the 2017-2018 term has given her the know-how to bring her sustainability and accessibility initiatives to light. And her experience as one of the founding members of NWWNC shows she knows what Westwood needs.

Though her ideas are somewhat vague, the above qualities give the board confidence she can accomplish her goals for the council next year.

Ashraf Beshay

Ashraf Beshay has the know-how of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council and the passion to serve the community. Consequently, this board endorses him for the position of general resident stakeholder.

Beshay, while not a part of the council itself last year, served on the NWWNC’s homelessness and budget committees. As part of the homelessness committee, he was involved in the council’s homelessness count. Beshay said he would want to help lead the count next year, as well as continue to build relationships with other neighborhood councils.

He also wants to focus on housing affordability and said he will not support housing projects that rent rooms for over $1,200 per bed. That’s slightly different from the pro-development tune of the council as a whole, and it’s important in ensuring balance at the council table.

However, Beshay did not mention a lot of specific goals in mind other than continuing the initiatives the council has already pursued. For example, he mentioned town halls as a tool to reach out to the public, even though such meetings could potentially be a violation of the Brown Act.

Since the role would be representing the general resident population of Westwood, the board would like to see more specifics from Beshay on how the council can pursue outreach and new goals other than the ones it’s already undertaking.

Specifics notwithstanding, Beshay’s determination to be proactive at the council table and stay focused on the council’s goals makes him worthy of a spot at the table.

Grayson Peters

To create change at any level of government, the devil is truly in the details. And Grayson Peters knows the details.

Peters, a second-year political science student, is passionate about tackling the biggest issues facing the community. He hopes to fight rising housing costs, promote business development, improve safe access for bikers and grow the council’s outreach.

These are lofty goals. But what sets Peters apart and earns him this board’s endorsement is his actionable and well thought-out strategies.

He has a multifaceted approach to ensuring housing affordability, including loosening parking requirements on new developments since many students don’t have cars, preventing landlord discrimination against section 8 housing choice voucher holders, and relaxing enforcement of vehicle dwelling restrictions, which antagonize homeless students seeking to reside in their cars.

Peters’ experience on the North Westwood Neighborhood Council’s transportation and safety committee and the land use committee also shines through. He highlighted his ongoing work to get a protected bike lane installed on Gayley Avenue between Le Conte Avenue and Strathmore Drive. His plan for increasing businesses in the Village similarly hinges on small actionable steps, like removing the distinction between fast food establishments and restaurants in the Westwood Village Specific Plan.

Yes, Peters may not make any grand promises. But he’s the wonkish, practical councilmember the NWWNC could use.

Joey Russel

Joey Russel brings an abundance of experience and creative ideas to the table that will benefit the North Westwood Neighborhood Council’s reach with undergraduate students.

His platform focus is on advocating for affordable housing options in Westwood by voicing support with the City Council for various local and state measures. In addition, he wants to expand democratic access in local elections for students by pursuing options like online voting – especially important given students’ increasing disengagement from local politics.

Russel has been engaged with the new council since its inception, regularly canvassing for Westwood Forward, as well as serving on NWWNC’s land use committee this past year. In addition, he demonstrates a familiarity with advocacy from his time campaigning to pass gun reform legislation in Broward County, Florida, and on former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum’s campaign.

His experience pushing for legislation will especially benefit his affordable housing platform, specifically in his stated goals of garnering support for various pieces of California legislation, such as Senate Bill 50 and Senate Bill 329, that seek to increase the amount of high-density housing in the state and reduce housing discrimination, respectively.

Russel boasts an impressive body of work and increasingly necessary platforms that make him a well-deserved representative for students in the upcoming NWWNC.

Nahian Arfin

Nahian Arfin has an eye on the important issues in Westwood. He might want to focus on some specific solutions too, though.

Arfin’s platforms pertain to affordable housing and food insecurity among students. He said he would like to challenge the definition of “fast food” to bring more restaurants with student-friendly budgets. While he is largely unclear on the ways he would make this change, he has his finger on a key reason students look outside Westwood for their food needs.

As for housing, Arfin said he wanted to continue to advocate for California Senate Bill 50, which would allow for more housing in zoning areas previously allocated for single-family housing only. He also said he wanted to work closely with the upcoming Agora housing project to ensure it meets student needs. Again, he’s in the right place, but sparing in details.

Yet he has the potential to come up with the answers. He was the publicity director of the Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board and has worked with Westwood Forward, the coalition that helped found the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, for roughly two years.

While he doesn’t necessarily boast a wealth of experience, this track record demonstrates familiarity with the council and its members – something necessary for transitioning onto the council. Furthermore, his background in outreach stands to help him connect students to a largely inaccessible council.

Sure, Arfin’s proposed changes are modest and at times undefined. But they demonstrate a keen eye for the issues students find important.

Alisha Ranadive

Living in Westwood is not a prerequisite for caring about its success and development.

Alisha Ranadive is proof of that.

Ranadive, a pediatrician at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, currently serves on the North Westwood Neighborhood Council as an organizational stakeholder. She chairs the election committee and believes community engagement is crucial to the success of the council. This is refreshing to hear, considering the less-than-stellar engagement the council has had thus far.

The board endorses Ranadive for worker stakeholder in the upcoming NWWNC election because of the promise she’s already shown, as well as her plans to continue projects that would improve Westwood for residents and workers.

Considering the council is made of mostly Westwood residents, Ranadive also offers the necessary perspective of someone who works in the Village. She expressed a desire to provide a voice for the tens of thousands of people who work in and commute to Westwood. She wants to fight for their concerns, especially regarding transportation and issues like the low number and lacking quality of bike lanes.

She has also demonstrated her ability to identify how the council can improve lives of all those with a stake in the Village, pointing to its necessary work in continuing to approve and fund community grants. She wants to work with the city to improve housing availability to combat homelessness.

Ranadive has the experience, the perspective and the heart to improve Westwood for all its constituents. She more than deserves another term on the council.

Kaveh Navab

Sometimes you just need your heart in the right place.

Kaveh Navab has that – just not a lot more.

Navab is running to be reelected as the North Westwood Neighborhood Council’s homeowner stakeholder, which he has served as since the council was created six months ago. His vision is a laundry list of improvements: He wants to improve public spaces, bike and scooter lanes, the accessibility of parking, shuttle services and how businesses cater to students’ needs.

These ideas are promising. But Navab doesn’t offer much with regard to implementing the long to-do list. And he didn’t respond when the board made multiple efforts to reach out to him and find out more about his platforms.

But Navab’s heart is in the right place, as is clear from his current service and his platforms for the coming year. He’s lived in Los Angeles for nearly four decades and wants to see Westwood thrive the way surrounding communities like West Hollywood have. He even pointed out how Westwood hasn’t responded to broader changes in population and commercial trends – a good outlook for someone on the council, especially a homeowner.

The board endorses Navab for his good intentions and understanding of Westwood. His platforms need thinking and his ideas need shaping, but his passion is in the right place.