NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Most Incumbents Keep Seats on Panel
Most incumbents retained their seats in the election of a citizens advisory panel for a controversial, multimillion-dollar city redevelopment project area in North Hollywood, according to unofficial election results released Wednesday.
But neither pro- nor anti-redevelopment agency forces in the Project Area Committee claimed victory after Tuesday night’s election at St. David’s Episcopal Church. The 25-member panel must determine winners in April of two tie-breakers for seats on the panel.
The committee, which has no legislative power, is the only residential panel that advises the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA, on budgets and projects in the 740-acre North Hollywood Redevelopment Area.
The project area, created in November, 1979, to spur investment and reduce blight, is bounded by Cahuenga Boulevard on the east, Tujunga Avenue on the west, Camarillo Street on the south and Hatteras Street on the north. Only voting-age residents living in the redevelopment area were allowed to vote.
Of the 15 slots on the panel up for election, nine were occupied by incumbents and the other six were vacant, said CRA community relations specialist Walter Beaumont. The open slots, for one- and two-year terms, were in five categories.
Incumbent Lee Cameron was ousted by newcomer Jack T. Elliot for a two-year position in the absentee owners category. Ruth M. Loza retained her position in that category.
Two incumbents were tied with challengers, according to the results released by city officials. Incumbent James Mahfet tied newcomer Joan Gonzales in the community organizations category and David A. Cox tied incumbent Marian Suprenant in the business owners/tenants category.
Incumbents reelected were Diana V. Hoffman, representing community organizations; Bonnie Fine, residential tenants; Ruth M. Loza, absentee owners; Lenora Rosen, residential owners/occupants, and Eugene B. Loza and Glenn B. Hoiby, business owners/tenants.
New committee members elected include Stephen Riley and Virginia Soltes, residential owners/occupants; Harriet Newton, community organizations, and Michael L. Reynolds and Charlotte Harkin Abaer, residential tenants.
The committee has pledged to spend nearly $61 million on projects such as new housing units, a shopping center and the Academy Entertainment and Business Center, home of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Anti-redevelopment agency forces on the panel have accused the CRA of catering to developers and wasting taxpayer money on white elephants, such as the partially vacant Academy Entertainment and Business Center. Committee members who support the CRA say the agency has provided housing and new jobs.
