Rivals Spar at UCLA in Final Debate

In their final forum before next week’s election, rivals for the 5th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council sparred Thursday night over the need to continue to revitalize Westwood, provide better public transportation and boost basic city services.

With 10 of the 11 candidates attending the climactic forum sponsored by several student groups at UCLA, the contenders jousted over a range of issues from the need for more paramedics to providing city support for the university.

Former state Sen. Tom Hayden called for an increase in firefighters and paramedics as a top public safety priority. He also said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to beef up bus service for transit-dependent residents.

Former federal prosecutor Jack Weiss, Beverlywood businesswoman Robyn Ritter Simon and others said additional light rail is needed to improve mass transit in Los Angeles.

Several candidates, including Laura Lake, president of Friends of Westwood, vowed to protect Westwood Village from overdevelopment while also seeking to revitalize the business district.

“I’ve worked on very specific projects to support good, quality planned development,” said Lake, speaking before about 70 students and faculty members at the candidates’ forum at Covel Commons on the Westwood campus.

Sherman Oaks businessman Ken Gerston was the only candidate who did not attend the forum.

Hours earlier, Gov. Gray Davis stepped into the 5th District fray when he issued a statement in defense of Tom Hayden’s record in the state Senate. Hayden’s record had been attacked as “a failure” in a mailer by Weiss earlier in the week.

In a statement, Davis said he has signed Hayden bills that represented “significant policy accomplishments,” including one requiring child safety locks for guns.

“Anyone who accuses Tom Hayden of being ineffective obviously doesn’t know either Tom’s outstanding legislative record over the past 18 years or his dedication to public service,” Davis said.

As the race has heated in the past week, it has entered the radar screen for more UCLA students, according to Danielle Valentino of the Bruin Democrats, one of the groups that sponsored the forum.

“Students realize this City Council decides things that are important to them, such as why we can’t dance in Westwood,” she said, adding that students would like to see dance clubs in the area.

Attorney Nate Bernstein said he has walked the streets of Westwood.

“I saw blight,” Bernstein said, calling for efforts to restore cultural vitality and bring sidewalk cafes to the Westwood area.

Weiss told the audience one of his priorities would be rejuvenation of Westwood Village to a “neighborhood-serving area.”

Hayden has targeted the Westwood area in recent days with ads in the university newspaper and fliers promising to have the city partner with UCLA academic programs to find solutions to city problems and restore Westwood Village.

“When I moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago, Westwood was a happening place to see a movie, stroll the streets,” Hayden said in one campaign flier. “Today, rush hour traffic is unbearable, yet the streets of the Village are often empty.”

Two other candidates, Simon and West Los Angeles businessman Steve Saltzman, have accused Lake of being too vociferous in opposing growth in Westwood Village.