SHERMAN OAKS : Feuer Urged to Hire Aide From Valley

Saying the astute hiring of Los Angeles City Council aides is extremely significant to local residents, a Sherman Oaks community leader is calling on Councilman-elect Michael Feuer to check candidates’ San Fernando Valley credentials.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., said that Feuer’s selection of assistants is critical to southeastern Valley homeowners because 90% of the public’s contacts with a City Council office are with an aide.

Pointing out that 40% to 45% of District 5 is in the Valley, Close said he said he would like Feuer to use his predecessor’s field office on Ventura Boulevard near Beverly Glen Boulevard. He said the field deputy in that office should be a Valley resident who is familiar with local issues.

Feuer said he will have an office in the Valley, and that it could remain at the same place, but that he hasn’t decided for sure. As for the Valley residency criteria, the politician said, “It is a suggestion that I take very seriously,” but “I don’t want to prejudge who I’m going to select.”

Elected June 6 to replace Zev Yaroslavsky, now a Los Angeles County supervisor, Feuer will take office in two weeks.

Close said he would like Feuer, in selecting aides, to put a high priority on people with good problem-solving skills who can deftly navigate the city bureaucracy and who are dedicated to serving constituents.

“In the past, we’ve had council deputies who were lazy and were political hacks who were rewarded because they worked on campaigns,” said Close, who said he was not talking about Yaroslavsky’s aides, whom he praised.

Close added that if Feuer decides to have two planning aides, one should be “a Valley person.”

Feuer said his criteria for hiring a field deputy will include problem-solving ability, follow-through and courteousness. Asked whether a person’s work on his campaign would have any impact on his hiring decisions, Feuer responded: “The only impact it would have, if any, would be that I would be intimately familiar with their skills.”

Feuer said he does not know how many planning deputies he will have, and could not say whether one would be from the Valley.