L.A. Elections / 5th District : Issues Center on Public Safety, Services for Valley : Attorney Michael Feuer calls for a more visible police presence and says he will establish neighborhood councils.

Q: Explain what kind of ethics reforms you support and what you personally are willing to do.

A: I don’t think a City Council member should be able to accept a campaign contribution and then be able to vote to enhance the interests of that contributor at City Hall. Six months before and six months after that kind of action, I might be receiving a contribution and then voting in that manner. I also think it’s important to send a message to residents . . . that it’s merit and not just the influence of money that guides decision-making in City Hall.

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Q: If elected, what’s your highest priority?

A: It’s very important to heighten police presence in the 5th District. The absence of any police station or substation in the 5th District and the concomitant relative lack of . . . police on the beat in neighborhoods and business districts does contribute to the reality of the crime problem in the district, and the perception that residents [are] less inclined to patronize business in the evening. So it’s important to me early on to work as a partner with the Police Department, the business community and residents--all of whom are necessary components to establish in substations and walking centers in the district.

It’s important to me early on to constitute neighborhood councils. We need to be doing everything we can to create vehicles to permit residents of the 5th District to be actively involved in shaping the future of their neighborhoods. I want to create neighborhood councils with homeowners and business and educators, all of whom work with me in a structured way to solve problems, especially before we have crises.

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Q: How would you go beyond what the mayor is doing on the issue of public safety?

A: The model I want to draw on in the district [is] to aggressively seek out members of the community to get them involved as partners in what happens. In the case of substations and walk-in centers, I think it’s imperative to include members of the community as volunteers. [They can be] trained as reservists, to do desk work, to take reports. . . . There is a hunger in the district to find ways to get involved again.

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Q: What do you think of the job Mayor Riordan is doing?

A: In many respects, he’s done a good job. He has brought a vitality and a focus to the office which the city needed and still needs. I think his focus on public safety at the outset was well taken and I think he has made some strides in that direction. . . . I do think the relationship between the mayor’s office and the City Council needs to continue to improve. There needs to be much more of a partnership there. I think there is sometimes the view that the mayor’s office isn’t as receptive to input from City Council members as it might be.

I’ll give you an example. The mayor proposed that we eliminate staff assistants from the Fire Department. He derisively termed them “chauffeurs.” The reality is different. But worse, the mayor’s office didn’t even seek input, as far as I know, from the Fire Department before issuing that proposal. My approach to budgeting . . . is to meet with the affected department leadership in advance and say, ‘Here’s what I’m contemplating. Tell me what’s good about this idea.’ And then present the budget to the council.

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Q: Based on what you’ve seen so far of Chief Willie Williams, should he be reappointed in 1997?

A: Premature for me to say. He has done some very good things about promoting the image of the Police Department, an image that was largely negative prior to his arrival. He deserves a lot of credit for that. My job as a candidate, with no access to any of the [Police Commission] personnel files or meaningful evaluation data, isn’t to inject myself into that controversy prematurely. Because I’m not responsible for him.

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Q: Valley residents have long complained they’ve been ignored by City Hall, that they’re not getting their fair share of services. The 5th District represents a good chunk of the Valley. What would you do to address this problem?

A: I hear the complaint all the time, as I walk door to door, especially. Yeah, there are several specific things I need to do. I need to have a Valley office that is open and staffed very soon after I’m in office. I need to physically be there on a regular basis. I need to be holding town hall meetings in the Valley. Neighborhood councils play an important role in instilling the sense that I have a very deep concern about assuring Valley residents that their interests are protected and aggressively advocated by the 5th District council member.

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Q: What about the proposed breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District?

A: Education’s a huge deal to me. . . . I want principals and teachers and parents to have control of what happens on school sites. I want to see 95 cents on the dollar going to school sites. The advocates of the breakup haven’t talked in those terms. I’m concerned that the breakup may distract from that effort to get local control, which all of us want as parents throughout the city. . . . So I’m disinclined to support a breakup.

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Q: Is it your opinion that Barbara Yaroslavsky will be either (A) a clone of her husband, former Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, or (B) a rubber stamp for the mayor? If neither, would you discuss how you think she would perform in office?

A: I have no way to judge whether she would be identical to Zev. I imagine there are areas where they disagree, as well as areas where they agree. She has throughout the campaign indicated how strongly supportive she is of the mayor. I don’t know how independent she would be of the mayor.

When it comes to her performance, I think Barbara has done some good volunteer work in the community. I just don’t think that work qualifies her to represent the 5th District.

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Voters in the 5th District will decide Tuesday who will succeed longtime Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, now a county supervisor. The race is between Yaroslavsky’s wife, Barbara, a community activist, and Mike Feuer, an attorney, who came in first in the primary. Crime, political reform and questions about a Yaroslavsky dynasty top the list of issues in the district, which includes Westwood, Bel-Air, the Fairfax area, Sherman Oaks, parts of Studio City and Van Nuys. The candidates were interviewed separately this week by a panel of Times editors and reporters. These excerpts were compiled by Times staff writer Jack Cheevers.