Candidates Gear Up for Council, City Attorney Races

Jeff Brain, a leading proponent of a bill to make a San Fernando Valley secession easier, is expected to announce today his plans to challenge incumbent Mike Feuer for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in November.

The announcement by Brain, a Sherman Oaks real estate broker and member of the city’s Productivity Commission, was expected because he has been critical of Feuer since he challenged the councilman for the post last year.

In the past few months, Brain and Feuer have been on opposite sides of a bill by Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) that, by eliminating the City Council’s power to veto a secession attempt, would have made it easier for the Valley to secede.

Brain has been one of the Valley’s most vocal backers of the bill and co-founded a group called Valley VOTE to support the Boland bill, which was defeated by the state Senate’s Appropriations Committee last month.

Brain has argued that the bill would have given Valley residents the power of “self-determination.”

Feuer has opposed the bill, saying that a secession will impact the entire city and therefore residents citywide should have a vote on any secession effort.

In last year’s race for the council seat, Brain garnered 12% of the vote in the primary, compared to Feuer’s 40%. Feuer ultimately beat activist Barbara Yaroslavsky in a lopsided runoff win to finish the two years remaining in the uncompleted term of her husband, Zev Yaroslavsky.

In an interview, Brain said he believes “that throughout the district there is dissatisfaction with Michael’s performance so far.” He said he would elaborate on his campaign during a news conference today.

The district includes Sherman Oaks and parts of Studio City and Van Nuys and stretches over the Santa Monica Mountains to include parts of Wilshire and Brentwood.

Brain is chairman of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan Review Board, responsible for overseeing a 20-year revitalization plan for the Valley’s “main street.” He is also a former president of the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce.

As a member of the Productivity Commission, he is part of a team of citizens who review city productivity and work-measurement programs and recommend improvements.

Feuer, the former director of a legal aid center, was on a staff retreat Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

While Feuer has been in office for barely over a year, he has already made a name for himself in City Hall as a vocal advocate for ethics reform by drafting measures to reduce the influence of lobbyists and large campaign contributors.

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Profile: Ted Stein

Eight months and a half a million dollars after he quit his appointed City Hall posts to launch a campaign, Ted Stein formally announced his candidacy Thursday for the office of Los Angeles city attorney. The election is in April.

* Born: Nov. 1, 1948

* Residence: Encino

* Education: Bachelor’s degree from USC, 1970; law- degree from Loyola Law School, 1973.

* Career Highlights: President of Los Angeles Airport Commission and senior policy advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan until Jan. 1, 1996, when he resigned to begin campaiging for city attorney. Previously served on the city’s Planning Commission under Mayor Tom Bradley. In 1970s, worked for three years as a deputy district attorney. Since then, has worked as a lawyer and investor in real estate development.

* Family: Married for 25 years to Ellen Stein, who serves on the city’s Board of Public Works; two daughters.