ED RHEE Fifth district city council candidate
Jack Weiss speaks at a Bruin Democrats forum
Tuesday. Runoffs will be held on June 5.
By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Contributor
Though support for fifth district city council candidates Tom
Hayden and Jack Weiss varies among leaders of student political
groups, their campus interaction may prove that UCLA will be a
force in the June 5 runoff election.
Weiss asked the Bruin Democrats if he could speak at their
Tuesday meeting to discuss issues relevant to student life ““
such as police corruption, transportation and local
entertainment.
The relationship between UCLA students and Westwood residents
was among the issues students discussed at Tuesday’s meeting
with Weiss.
An ongoing source of conflict in Westwood is the difference in
lifestyles of the affluent areas and their interaction with
students and the working class, students said at the meeting.
Students also expressed the need for more local hangouts,
specifically a place to dance. But a Westwood ordinance,
spearheaded by local residents, dictates that there cannot be a
dance club in the village.
“If there’s dancing in Westwood, it’s not
going to be great,” Weiss said, adding that he prefers a more
community-centered feeling in Westwood.
“Los Angeles would be in trouble if Westwood was the
hippest place to be,” he said.
Hayden, whose 33.52 percent of the primary vote topped
Weiss’ by nearly 10 percentage points, spoke at a Bruin
Democrats meeting in March.
Though both candidates are Democrats, third-year political
science student and Republican Leadership Council member Jason De
Son said he is more interested in a candidate who will truly listen
to student concerns.
“Hayden comes off as just another career
politician,” said De Son, a third-year political science
student. “Weiss is more real and more open to moderation and
compromise.”
Students said that with the addition of upscale restaurants like
Eurochow and Napa Valley Grill, Westwood is accommodating the
growing upper class, leading some to show concern that their voices
could be ignored.
Though fourth-year political science student and Bruin Democrats
Officer Jama Adams viewed Weiss as a more congenial person than
Hayden, she said Hayden will do a better job at standing up against
the wealthy constituents in the surrounding area.
“I’m worried that Weiss won’t protect student
interest over Bel-Air residents. I think he’s favored them in
the past. They have more political power, students don’t
vote; they know that and we know that,” Adams said.
Adams said he views Hayden as a liberal Democrat who has built a
career out of fighting for workers and will be more likely to stand
up against the money interest of Westwood Village.
“UCLA is an integral part of this district and I think we
should have a say in what goes on,” Adams said.
Weiss was born during the time 1960’s activist Hayden was
holding massive protests and facing criminal charges in front of a
judge for his role as part of the “Chicago Seven.”
“Your choice is between a new generation that wants to do
something positive for the city and an older kind of protest
politics which really doesn’t make things happen,”
Weiss said.
Weiss acknowledged Hayden’s persuasive public speaking
skills but considers Hayden’s methods outdated and
inefficient.
Many of their positions overlap as both candidates call for the
restructuring of a dismal public transportation system as well as
the urgent need to clean up police corruption.
“I saw how to do law enforcement the right way when I was
a D.A. This is something Los Angeles has failed at for
decades,” Weiss said.
Weiss supports a civilian police commission that serves as an
overseeing unit to the Los Angeles Police Department. He also
believes that a sort of monetary award should be given to those
officers who are doing their job well.
Weiss served as assistant U.S. attorney, specializing in
corruption, fraud, civil rights and violent crimes cases as a
federal prosecutor. He obtained his law degree from UCLA while
serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Bruin.
Hayden recently moved into Westwood, and subsequently within the
fifth district, while still maintaining his Brentwood
estate. Former candidate Joe Connolly has continued with a
lawsuit against Hayden for perjury and residency fraud.
Other local issues the elected position will have to face is
traffic, overwhelming billboard blight and rent control.
Both candidates said they oppose tearing up the UCLA intramural
field in order to build a parking structure, as intended for next
year.