Move to Oust Wood as Head of CRA Fails in City Council

A move to oust the head of the Community Redevelopment Agency failed Tuesday when the Los Angeles City Council voted overwhelmingly to endorse Mayor Tom Bradley’s reappointment of James Wood.

Wood, who has chaired the CRA’s board since 1984, had become a focal point for dissatisfaction with the agency’s emphasis on downtown development. Wood has been a member of the board since 1977 and has helped bring about a dramatic rebirth of the downtown area.

Some council members have complained that the rebirth has gone too far, aggravating traffic and air pollution problems while ignoring other segments of the city. But in an 11-3 vote, the council rejected a committee recommendation that Wood’s reappointment to a four-year term on the board be turned down.

Wood told reporters the council action was an endorsement of his leadership and said, “The future of downtown is continued responsible development.”

Asked if the skirmish was a message to slow downtown development, Wood said, “No. I believe the message is exactly the opposite. . . . The City Council accepted its responsibility for the plans it approved.”

For more than a year, some council members have been openly at odds with Wood and other CRA officials, whom they have accused of being less than open about the activities of the huge agency, which oversees an annual budget of $500 million.

Last summer, the council gave itself greater control over the CRA, but stopped short of a complete takeover. Last week, after a contentious meeting, the council’s Community Redevelopment and Housing Committee voted 2 to 1 against Wood’s reappointment.

But on Tuesday, at a relatively tame council meeting, Wood was praised by many council members.

Councilman Richard Alatorre said that all great cities depend on the development of a core. “Without that core, without that vitality, we have no city,” Alatorre said.

The council has overseen the development of downtown and directed the CRA over the years, Alatorre said. “Ultimately we have to share the blame if, in fact, the direction of the CRA is not now, all of a sudden, the direction that we would like to move in.”

Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, whose district includes downtown, called Wood “a heavenly saint” and one of the most outstanding citizens of the city.

“I wish I had a crown,” Lindsay said.

Others were not as kind.

“We need new leadership at the CRA,” said Councilwoman Gloria Molina, who chairs the committee that voted against Wood. “What we’re seeing here is a future of more and more development and that development is all going downtown without the appropriate mitigation. . . . What we’re talking about is the future of the city of Los Angeles. . . . The issue is responsible growth.”

Molina voted against the confirmation, as did Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Ernani Bernardi. Councilman Nate Holden was absent.

Perhaps the most stinging criticism came from Yaroslavsky, who said the agency has “failed miserably.”

“This agency has done some great things in the 1960s and ‘70s. In the 1980s, I think it kind of lost its mission.

“It kindled the flame of redevelopment downtown, and by 1980 or ’85 we should have declared victory and gone on to deal with some of the other problems that have plagued the downtown area . . . such as homelessness and poor people.”