Weiss for Council District 5

The 5th Council District is, in many ways, a microcosm of Los Angeles, reflecting the city’s promise and its problems. Sweeping southward from Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks over the Santa Monica Mountains, the district takes in such affluent communities as Bel-Air, Westwood, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood. The 5th is home to some of the city’s marquee institutions, including UCLA and 20th Century Fox, trendy stretches of Melrose Avenue and Ventura Boulevard and a host of brand-name corporate and commercial ventures.

But its economic good fortune has become a two-edged sword for many residents, bringing gridlocked streets, billboard blight and pitched battles over mega-developments in Westwood Village, the Farmer’s Market and elsewhere. The challenge for the next council member is to balance growth with creative solutions to the district’s--and the city’s--pressing problems. In a close call, we think that person is Jack Weiss.

A huge field--11 candidates, more than in any other council race--is vying to replace Mike Feuer, who is running for city attorney. By far the best-known candidate is Tom Hayden, who was termed out of the state Legislature after having served his Santa Monica and Westside constituents for 18 years. The former student leader of Vietnam-era protests is a man of high intellect and conscience. As a legislator, Hayden won respect from both sides of the aisle. He says, with some justification, he’s running for City Council because of a long-term involvement in cleaning up police corruption, expanding mass transit and urban parks and improving local schools. That said, however, Hayden’s run for the 5th District seat seems to have more to do with his desire for a political outlet than a keen desire to serve residents of a district where he only recently began maintaining a residence.

The rest of the field consists of familiar faces and several promising newcomers, many with deep roots in the district. Robyn Ritter Simon is a former broadcast journalist whose efforts have brought new energy and neighborhood children to her local elementary school. Ritter Simon is refreshingly enthusiastic but doesn’t yet demonstrate the breadth of knowledge on the issues that the council job requires. Steve Saltzman, a Westside businessman who narrowly lost a 1982 Assembly race to Hayden, has a record of service in the late Mayor Tom Bradley’s administration, but at this point, he, like Hayden, seems a man in search of something interesting to do.

Laura Lake, a Westwood resident and longtime neighborhood activist, is making a third run for this seat; she has demonstrated a devoted but limited following. Ken Gerston is a Valley businessman who is basing his candidacy only on what he perceives as Valley interests.

Because of his many years in public life and his well-known name, Hayden is expected to wind up as one of the two candidates in the June runoff election. The other should be Jack Weiss.

Weiss, 36, a former federal prosecutor, is an energetic newcomer to politics and has attracted broad support. Many of his positions don’t differ much from Hayden’s--Weiss backs the consent decree that will help to reform the Police Department and has taken a strong stand against overdevelopment, a particular problem on the Westside. Weiss says he wants to be a “bridge builder, not a polarizer.” If he makes the runoff, Weiss, who has been running mostly against Hayden, will have to offer voters more than being the anti-Hayden. Weiss knows the 5th District and is committed to the big-picture issues, like police reform, as well the nuts and bolts of constituent service. The Times endorses Jack Weiss for the 5th Council District.

Other Times endorsements are available at www.latimes.com/endorsements.