3rd District Candidates Offer Array of Views at Valley Forum

San Fernando Valley residents should be able to go to pro football games in the Valley, choose commercial flights out of Palmdale instead of LAX, ride light-rail trains from Warner Center to North Hollywood and send their kids to a Valley school district, according to City Council candidates who attended a forum Friday.

Five of the six candidates vying for the southwest Valley’s 3rd District council seat attended the broad-ranging forum sponsored by the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. in Studio City.

Candidates competing to succeed Laura Chick were each asked different questions provided by the audience of 50 business leaders at the Sportsmen’s Lodge.

Candidate and Deputy City Atty. Jason Dominguez was asked about bringing a National Football League team back to Los Angeles. He said the Southern California media market is strong enough to justify a team in the Valley as well as a team for the rest of Los Angeles.

“It’s an important part of the culture, a part of being a world-class city,” Dominguez said. He said he would not use tax dollars to subsidize bringing teams to Los Angeles.

Dominguez also called for a moratorium on new billboards.

Police Sgt. Dennis Zine, another candidate, made the pitch for spreading the burden of air traffic from Los Angeles International to other airports in the region, including Palmdale Airport.

“I’m not opposed to responsible development at LAX,” Zine said. “But we can’t take everything into LAX.”

Zine also said he supports the study of Valley cityhood, but said the new mayor and City Council deserve a chance before he would commit to breaking up the city.

Judith Hirshberg, who was an aide to former Councilman Marvin Braude, proposed a light-rail system across the Valley, complaining, “It’s almost impossible to get in and out of the Valley or across the Valley by car.”

Hirshberg also promised that if elected she would work closely with planned neighborhood councils to make sure they provide early input on local issues, such as development projects.

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Candidate Francine Oschin, an aide to Councilman Hal Bernson, told the business leaders that breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District is a priority.

“I will fight for a Valleywide school district so our kids can get the education they deserve,” she said.

Oschin also called for an expanded regional office that would streamline the permit process for film and television production.

Candidate Tsilah Burman said she would work to have the city do what it can to expedite construction of new schools.

“I’m very disappointed to see what is happening with overcrowding, that we are not getting schools built faster,” said Burman, a former real estate investment firm manager.

To make city government more accessible to residents, Burman also said she would keep the council office open until 8 p.m. once a week, and would hold quarterly town hall meetings in the district.