\”Mayor Villaraigosa said many times during his campaign that he would lead a trip to Israel,\” Weiss said in a phone interview. \”He feels a strong connection to Israel.\”
I imagine you are enjoying the hoopla surrounding your election. As the first Latino chief executive in more than 130 years, it may be tempting to bask in the warmth of a great ethnic triumph.
But don\’t enjoy it too much. Los Angeles does not need a symbol or an icon; it needs a mayor, one who can be both decisive and effective. We need less rah-rah and more Fiorello La Guardia.
A Los Angeles rabbi has retracted his charge that Mayor James Hahn\’s re-election campaign was \”dishonest and manipulative\” in claiming endorsements from Jewish community leaders.
The narrow defeat of mayoral candidate Robert Hertzberg marked a signal defeat not only for Los Angeles but for the future of Jewish influence in Los Angeles.
\”He\’s a soul mate in terms of environmental sensitivity and good government,\” said Dave Freeman, about mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa. Freeman, former head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), paused for just a moment, then continued in his Southern accent, \”I just think he has the ability to advance an agenda more focused on what I consider Jewish values.\”
If you were aching for a sandwich on Fairfax Avenue last Monday, you might remember pushing through a crowd of reporters. That day, three prominent Jewish politicians, often yelling over passing traffic noise, gathered in front of Canter\’s Deli to publicly endorse City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa\’s bid to become the mayor of Los Angeles.
Jews are attentive, high-propensity voters. Nearly one in five Los Angeles voters are Jewish (with only 6 percent of the population). If past history is a guide, however, the Jewish vote will play a more important role in the expected runoff between the two top candidates than in the multicandidate primary.
While the Jewish vote apparently split down the middle in James K. Hahn\’s victory over Antonio Villaraigosa in the contest for mayor, there was bad news and good news for Jewish candidates in other races.
Does it matter to you what ethnicity the next L.A. mayor will represent? In the upcoming April primary, there are two Jewish candidates, long-time city councilmember Joel Wachs and real estate broker Steve Soboroff.
We\’ve elected an \”Education President.\” Now, get ready to choose the \”Education Mayor.\”
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