Dear Recall Supporters and Interested Parties,

Many have asked why the recall effort announced that it would not be hitting its goal several days early.

The reason is that in order to END UP with the required number of validated signatures we needed to collect more than the minimum number as many are usually rejected.  You can be sure that Jack Weiss and his "team" would have used every tool at their disposal to invalidate as many as possible.

In this case we needed to hit at least 28,000 according to the experts.  There was simply no source for that many more (8,000) signatures.   We have been told that around 500 - 1000 additional signatures exist out there – not nearly enough. 

The primary reason for announcing early was that the City would have had to spend $100,000 to pay for and train validators had we not notified them when we did.  We could not in good conscience cost the City that money. 

Believe that we are deeply frustrated by how close we came.  We did not give up, we simply were not going to get there and could not justify forcing the City Clerk to expend precious City resources. 

A few facts to understand:  About 40,000 votes were cast in the 2005 election.  We were required to get 15% of 150,000+ registered voters or roughly 23,000 signatures.  Jack Weiss received only 28,571 votes in 2005.   

To achieve a sufficient margin for invalid signatures we had to get just about as many signatures as he got votes.  As it stands, we got about 20,000 signatures - just 8,000 less than Jack Weiss got votes - roughly 70% of his total or 50% of all votes cast in 2005. 

Despite the fact that we will not hit our goal, the recall was a clear vote of no-confidence in Jack Weiss.

Anyone who reads the emails sent to the recall will understand the breadth and depth of the dissatisfaction with Jack Weiss and why a recall effort was needed.   We hope anyone looking at Jack Weiss for City Attorney should take the time to read the emails.

We encourage everyone to send an email to Leanne Pelham of the City Ethics Commission and demand that she respond to the ethics complaint filed by the recall and enforce the City Charter.

Finally, we have been told that the recall was the best thing to happen to CD5 under Jack Weiss.  He was forced to actually meet with and listen to his constituents.  According to one person Jack Weiss was "giving away the farm" in response to the recall. 

A selection of emails received by the recall…

Dear Jack Weiss and/or staff:

I live behind Toast Café.  Yom Kippur night (Saturday 9/22) there was CONSTRUCTION NOISES until 1 a.m. 
The owners decided that in honor of the holiday, they would close for business and replace their floor which required hammering and drilling to remove the old floor.

Yom Kippur eve, after services, I had to go to the restaurant and ask them if they were going to stop banging by 11 p.m. (they STARTED banging at 10 p.m.)

Last night (Saturday) I came home from temple (8:30 p.m.) and they were working away for hours.  When I went to bed at midnight they were quiet so I thought they were finally done -- I was awakened at 1 a.m. by banging and had to shout out the window "don't you guys have relatives who sleep?  Aren't you related to someone who sleeps?  It is not my fault that I require sleep."  Finally they left at 1:15 a.m. after keeping the whole building awake until 1 a.m.

Toast deliberately harasses our building.  Examples:

Last year Toast left old stinky food in their parking lot for Yom Kippur, this year they drilled till 1 a.m.
(They always attack on Yom Kippur, I notice.  Why is that allowed?  Can't they be cited for religious intolerance or something?).

Last month on a Saturday morning (5:30 a.m.) they had a Sysco truck come by, deliberately park right next to our bedrooms, on the northside of the alley, instead of parking in the COMPLETELY EMPTY Toast parking lot which would have been more efficient.  I had to wake up, yell to the driver, suggesting he should park on 3rd Street, which he finally did after thinking about it.  Obviously Toast told him to park next to us to "wake" us since they are such "considerate" neighbors.

Also, last month, they had a broken fan.  Instead of fixing it within 24 hours, as an efficient business should, they didn't do it until I called Office LaJolla out of the Wilshire Police Station and he talked to them.  They probably were going to fix it anyway, in time, but why not let their neighbors suffer FOR A WEEK!!! just to do it. I went to them first.  The first night, one of their employees kindly turned off the fan.  The next night when I came, I was told, curtly, that turning off the fan turns off the refrigeration.  I said I needed the fan turned off by 11 p.m. (this was around 9:30 in the evening).  The "manager" said he would call the owners and ask what to do.  He said he would call.  He did not call.  An hour later I went back to ask why he didn't call and he said he had "forgotten" about my little problem.  He said he would call.  I called back 15 minutes later and a different guy told me they couldn't turn off the fan and hung up on me.  I then left a message for Officer LaJolla and then called him again the next day.  He talked to them and they got a new fan but I lost a week of sleep.  Why is this allowed?  Why aren't businesses punished when they don't fix things they should until a neighbor has to complain, and a policeman has to give them a talk?  This cost the city money!  Why aren't they fined immediately?  Why am I not compensated for being tired for a week?

Because you allowed them to stay open until 11 p.m. they make 2 hours of clean-up noise every night.  Much of it is unnecessary.

They could do their clean up before 11 p.m. and just have one small trash can by the door for the last little bit of stuff. 
They could wash all their rubber tubs and trash cans earlier in the evening and just leave one that they wash the next morning after 8 a.m.  
They could switch to dustbins made of rubber, or something that does not cause noise.  They do nothing.

I've suggested that they not scrape the parking lot with a noisy metal dustpan at 6:45 a.m. every morning (including weekends and holidays) because they are not supposed to make noise until 8 a.m. (which is still too early for a weekend).  Instead of finding a rubber dustbin, or sweeping their parking lot around 10 p.m. they continue making noise at 6:45 a.m. every day.

I've suggested that a lot of the trash can banging (which occurs both at 1 a.m. as well as at 6:45 a.m.) could be alleviated by not using the TOO tall trash cans after 10 p.m. or before 8 a.m., but having a shorter smaller trash can that they use after 10 p.m. and then put in the larger trash can for pick-up at 8 a.m. in the morning.  They do nothing.

They also make sure the largest cars possible are parked right opposite our driveway so it is as difficult as possible to exit and enter during the day. 

Also, why do they put their trash cans as close to our building as they can?  Why isn't Toast's trash right up against Toast, rather than as close as possible to OUR bedrooms?  After all, wouldn't it be easier to empty their trash, and to park their customers' cars, if their 5 giant trash cans were lined up right against Toast's back wall?  Maybe then they could smell their trash and it would alert them to problems sooner. 
Why do I get the view of Toast trash from my bedroom while Toast's view is of our trees?

My 81 year old mother (), who is housebound, gets to live her last years with truck noises and fumes all day.  Sysko and other trucks park right up against our building because Toast's parking lot is always full and, for some reason which I cannot figure out, there seems to be some problem with commercial parking on Third Street, where they should unload.  Commercial noise should be kept on commercial streets, not in residential neighborhoods.  Why can't trucks unload on Third Street to keep their noise away from residences?

The reason you have a recall against you is that you are not protecting the SLEEP of your constituents -- frankly the traffic problem is way down on my list. 
I'm just trying to get the basic right to sleep and you allow businesses to do construction at all hours of the night, to stay open until 11 p.m. when they are 18 feet away from residences! (which means making cleaning up noises until midnight or 1 a.m. EVERY NIGHT). 

How can you call yourself a human being?  Isn't there some other way you can make money besides destroying the sleep of your constituents? 
Why do I have to choose between stifling in a hot bedroom when it is 98 degrees or being kept up all night by Toast noise? 
Why did you even allow windows on houses if your aim as a councilman was to have 24/7 noise?

If there is any justice, you should never have a good night's sleep for the rest of your life, after what you have done to the sleep of your constituents.

I am ashamed that I voted for you in the past.  My mother used to tell me that you would come to meetings to help us restrict Toast and you never came. 
You are not acting like a human being.  How can you not protect SLEEP?!?!  Don't you sleep? 
Don't you know people who sleep.  Aren't you related to people who sleep?  Haven't you heard of the concept of sleep? 

Thank you for your efforts in recalling Jack Weiss.

Due to my personal time limitations, I don’t think that I can do much canvassing, but I want to support your efforts.

I thought you would like to know, that 42 permitted children, who have been attending Westwood Charter for sometime, have been asked to leave due to overcrowding.

>Some of these children, have been attending since kindergarden.

>Thank you Jack Weiss.

.  I will not be able to be a petition circulator to gather signatures as my

schedule does not allow it. However, I am very much incensed by what Jack Weiss has done and it is appalling.

Hi,

I am a resident and homeowner in Los Angeles and would like to add my name to the recall Jack Weiss petition, who is my district councilperson.

My neighborhood has been particularly impacted, with all the beautiful old 1920's Spanish buildings being torn down and over-height 4 story buildings being approved.

Unlike West Hollywood (which my neighborhood is surrounded by on all 4 sides), Jack Weiss seems to have no interest in historic preservation or building development appropriate for our once small scale neighborhood.

I live one street South of Wilshire.  For the past couple of years, I have been trapped in my neighborhood, with no way out.  There is no way to travel East or West as there has been so much ongoing construction, all at the same time, on both Wilshre Blvd & Santa Monica Blvd, Who authorized that builders could block off 2 lanes on Wilshire Blvd, whenever they want?  It's outrageous. 

And Westwood Village is another story.  What a shame.  Parking remains a major problem, with only one reasonable lot and much more construction going on (new apt bldgs).  There is so much turnover in the stores, you think that would be the motivation to review and make changes.

Anyway, I hold Jack Weiss responsible for not helping resolve these issues...so I would be in favor of recalling him and electing someone more responsible and standing up for the people in his district, rather then developers.

I would like to gather the signatures of the neighbors I know feel like us.  I am not able to circulate it elsewhere due to certain health issues.  I am a corner house, highly visible to tons of traffic (Crescent Hts. Bl./Edinburgh Ave./Colgate Ave.).  I would like to display 4 signs for each direction that passes.

I have had an enduring personal issue with our man Jackie Boy.  My intersections are the sites of multiple car accidents (3 of which have landed on my property).  After much labored calling (not returning calls to my messages and "unavailable"), emailing, letter writing (no responses), and talking to multiple offices and home office staff members for an appointment to meet with my council representative, I was given the run-around and finally a hang-up from one of his top aides. 

They all claimed that it is possible for constituents to meet with THEIR representative.  I asked for an appointment, and I was told that he was booked for months.  That was not a problem for me, so could they book me at any date on any up coming months.  Then they said that he prefers to meet with groups and/or their representatives.  I asked again, if a constituent has a right to meet with their CM, and they said yes.  I asked if Sr. Caruso and other developers have met with Jackie, and they skirted the issue.  I said that I want the same right to meet as do the develepers who are not his constituents.  After going around in circles his scheduler hung-up on me.

Huizar has a weekly meeting open to all constituents and schedules follow-up meetings with individuals.  Tom La Bonge regularly meets with constituents who schedule a meeting.  Garcetti has an on-line request for constituent meeting petitions.  Jackie Boy's office field all attempts to meet with him as if he were some celebrity or CIA secret agent.

I asked to speak to the chief of staff, Denise Sample.  After much calling ("unvailable", etc...) and many emails, we spoke.  I requested that her staffer apologize to me.  Instead Ms. Sample apologized for her.  I said that in any other profession an employee would be reprimanded for treating a client that way.  She would not budge.  Then I  solicited an appt. to meet with my CM with through her efforts.  It was deja-vu all over again!  She ended the communications.

I was prepared to attend an LA City Council Meeting to solicit an appt. directly from him before his peers.  Unfortunately many health, family, home, and other concerns have impeded my plans.  When an opportunity for me was available I was going to pursue my quest.  Then I heard about the recall.

I saved all my emails and dated and recorded phone communications.  I went to work independently with the DOT.  I became a real pest.  Seven of eleven requests and recommendations for traffic safety measures  were approved (after 6 months of persistence).  The more difficult suggestions have been considered, but are held for "approval" of some sort. 

Had my CM, Jackie Boy, met with and worked with me (as I requested), 6 months of persistence and "approval" delays would not have occurred.  This I know because the developers receive these "courtesies" that constituents are denied.  Long story short, RECALL JACKIE BOY!

Thank you all for your admirable work, hours of labor, and accomplishments.

> Just when  you thought it was safe to go outside!  I can't believe I

> sold my house and moved to get away from this kind of

> mess...  It's everywhere!   Another house is being "remodeled".   When

> did a remodel start to include  cement trucks?

>

> These pictures are a perfect example of A:  The mass construction

> going on all over the canyon.  B:  The danger imposed upon the

> residents and their property.  C:  The lack of communication with  the

> contractors and workers.

>

> At one point there were three cement trucks on our street.  This is a

> very narrow dead end street.  We are a red flag street.

> There are six more houses past this truck.  Need I say, if there was

This is in response to the question of how local residents feel about the assertion that Mr. Weiss is now starting to do the "Right Thing" by the hillsides.

Weiss Recall/ Political Opportunism / Protecting Incumbents

 My position has not changed since this Email.

In my conversations with neighbors who have signed the recall, their positions have not changed.

I am not unsympathetic to Mr. Weiss's plight.  I am sure Mr. Weiss is articulate and intelligent. I completely understand that politics is " the art of the possible" and the compromises attendant on representing a  large and diverse district while trying to move on politically.  However it was not until Mr. Weiss got a dose of what his constituents had been putting up with that appropriate actions are now forthcoming.

This is no longer about my or others local interests. It is about character and doing your homework. It is about someone who wants to be DA of the second largest city in the country. Children who do their homework do not get a "D".

Things are indeed completely out of control.

 I do not think Mr Weiss will help. He stood outside my house in October and on NBC Television said that this area was not meant to be so developed and developers should be made to cross every "i "and dot every " t ".

 Clearly the developers are emboldened by the lack of enforcement.

 Last year a severe letter from the Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council to Andrew Adelman, Chief of the  Dept. of Building and Safety and to Jack Weiss demanding that the owner / builder at 8401 GrandView be  shut down for safety reasons was essentially ignored.

The normal avenues of redress are blocked.

 Time for legal action.

During the week  the attached notice appeared at the corner of GrandView and Kirkwoood.

It is huge and totally attention getting.

 In case you cannot download here is the text:

" CITY OF LOS ANGELES

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WROKS

ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT FOR

YOUR CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE

ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA, MAYOR

COUNCILMAN JACK WEISSS

COUNCIL DISTRICT 5"

I am presuming it relates to repairs to GrandView and possible surrounding streets.

I have lived on GrandView for 24 years and I have never seen such a notice before. There has been the odd small notice stating that public works would be operating.

GrandView has multiple Jack Weiss Recall signs. For the past two weeks all signs relating to the Weiss Recall on  public  property in the neighborhood have been systematically pulled.

GrandView is in Laurel Canyon and is a delicate street barely 13 feet wide in places at the crest of a hill. It is classified as a "Substandard Hillside Limited Street". GrandView has always been precarious and neglected by the City  but in the past two years  has suffered massive damage from  gross violations by irresponsible owner-builders. Mostly these stem from a property at 8401 GrandView under construction by an owner builder since April of last year and to a lesser extent a "remodel" at 8400 GrandView that involved totally knocking down the house.

 Last year the road was crushed repeatedly by caterpillars, water ran off the edges and through the cracks and undermined the road. There was all kinds of damage to private property. Jack Weiss, Dept. of Public Works, Street Services, Dept of Building and Safety and any city agency responsible were all  informed of the problems, how they were developing and specifically who was creating them and when.  I have massive and competent documentation. I have begged them to deal with the responsible parties. I was given  short shrift by Street Services and a very rude reply from Building and Safety.

This year heavy construction trucks have repeatedly broken through the asphalt and damaged the water pipes under the surface of the road.

 This was all totally predictable and Jack Weiss specifically and the city were told so  before construction began.

 I find it fascinating that after years of neglect suddenly  the above notice should appear especially when other notices are being pulled down. I am appalled that the city should be paying out for totally predictable damage when they were warned. The notion that the citizenry should be grateful for this kind of incompetence is stunning.

The behavior with the notices and sudden attention  would appear to be the worst kind of political opportunism where the power of the city is unleashed to protect incumbents.

I have been amazed at the depth and breadth of the anger against Mr. Weiss. I sense this is possible if we all pull together.

If you saw the size of the house that has been allowed to be built (less than) 9 feet from our property line, you would be appauled.  Please recall this ineffective person.

AND I am convinced that he must have accepted money... the house is at the corner of Hayvenhurst Ave. and Adlon Rd. in Encino... It is truly unbelievable!!

Dear Folks -

Unfortunately, I have no money but wholeheartedly support your effort.  Since 2000 we have been fighting developers concepts for our neighborhood here at Chase Knolls.  We have witnessed Jack Weiss and Wendy Greuel pretend to help us in the day time but make backroom deals with the developer allowing their greedy monstrosity to invade our communities.  We have witnessed how the developer runs the city  as the highest paid city council in the US throws up their hands and say "they tried".  But of course when you check the donation list of these politicians it is woefully apparent they have been bought.  Even check the donations to the building dept. you will find developer money awash in our city's bureaucracy.  I have tales to tell.

Please send me a petition –-------Bel Air CA 90077

You should also mention that we have no LAPD protection – between Beverly Glen and the 405 Freeway we have one Patrol Car. Only when we had the rash of burglaries a year ago – and some of us made noise – did we get a couple of more patrol cars – which have disappeared in the past 6 months .

Suggest that in the campaign you not just concentrate on traffic (that’s a City wide problem) but also emphasize police protection – this also is a much easier subject to get people to support the recall campaign

I tried for a long time to communicate through my neighborhood organization that I did not feel Jack Weiss's office was doing anything about controlling development or protecting neighbors against massive demolition on our street. I live on Croft Avenue in LA, adjacent to West Hollywood in Coucilman Weiss's district, and we have been bombarded by demolition of small, older homes for replacements with large, out of scale boxes. Weiss'

office did nothng about this for years, other than backing an interim building code that limited heights and setbacks. I did not think this was adequate.

all the "Recall" signs have been removed from Laurel Canyon.  I was so happy to see them on Monday AM and they were all gone as of Wednesday PM.  I would be glad to put more up.  I requested signs for my yard on the corner of Laurel Pass and Eastwood which gets lots of traffic due to Laurel Canyon back ups.  I am leaving town until July 10th but will be glad to help when I return. 

We had a terrible experience with Weiss' office when our street had a sink hole.  It took almost a year to have it fixed and only until I threatened to call the press did we get any response.  We also have had variances and a building project of a house too big on a too small lot that Jack Black is building and is an eyesore for our neighbor hood and has lasted almost 5 years and we still can't get his office to do anything.

Instead of responding affirmatively to our request, Councilman Weiss  has chosen to divert attention from the immediate needs of his constituents and substitute the BABCNC presentation instead. Councilman Weiss has omitted a Caltrans presentation, though Bel Air Crest has requested that it be included
in any presentations and discussions.  Jack Weiss is making an obvious political move to thwart the efforts of several Communities to find out exactly what is going to happen in the Sepulveda Pass in the next 4-6 years! There will be no clear overlays showing the LADOT and Cal Trans projects. There will be no accountability, no transparency, no clarity, and the BABCNC will be a pawn in allowing this to happen...because you are powerless to do otherwise. I am disappointed, but not surprised that Jack Weiss has chosen to ignore all of our questions and concerns about both the Wilshire through the Mulholland Tunnel Project and the dovetailing of same with the Cal Trans north and southbound 405 HOV lane/on-offramp/Skirball Bridge and Mulholland Bridge additions.

I am on the Board of Directors of my condo association and would like to know how I can get 2 “recall Jack Weiss” signs.

We have had some issues with his office and were very disappointed in their response.

Best regards,

I am a South Carthay resident who wishes to volunteer in the recall effort.

Hi,

I just found out about your campaign this morning. I assume you're the same group that was mentioned in the "In Brief" section of the LA Times today. It didn't mention who the group was or how to find you so I googled it.

Don't know what I can do to help, but wanted to let you know that I've had problems with Jack Weiss and his staff.

We moved to Valley Village 5 years ago and I have tried contacting him so many times and he has never ONCE responded to me. Recently I started contacting the city about repaving our delapidated streets. My handicapped sister lives with us and she has actually fallen when out on walks the streets are so bad. Anyway, a horrible woman named Joan Pelico, a field deputy from his office, came out to see the streets and was so sweet and gushing and agreed something had to be done. When she ran into the same roadblocks I did, her whole attitude changed. 

I then filed an American's with Disabilities Act complaint against the city which is finally what got our streets done. I'm enclosing links for you to see what we had to go through, though, to get them done, including some videos. During all this, I sent email to Jack Weiss's office and again, he never once responded. Joan Pelico did when she was offended that I said his "office" had never responded instead of him personally. However, I only said that in a private email that she wasn't privvy to!

She then started contacting people I knew including my neighbors and a disability expert in Northern California. He ended up calling me and telling me that she was questioning who he was and what his affiliation was to me. He told me that Joan Pelico described what  a horrible person I was and how I had offended the ADA Compliance officer for the City of Los Angeles ( I now have an email from that ADA Officer stating that I never did!). She also told him that one of my neighbors told her that my sister was homebound, never left the house and that I was only filing the complaint to get our streets repaved, which is totally untrue and libelous. 

I then complained to her superior, Denise Sample, who said she would look into it. When I proved to her that what Joan said was libelous and I might seek a lawsuit, she stopped responding to me. 

All along, nothing from Jack Weiss, including no apology for the behavior of one of his staff.

I never knew it was allowable for our councilmembers to ignore us.

Thank You...finally..

You got great coverage on Bill Handel this morning

I would love to help.  I'm so tried to dealing with his office.

I live in the Beverly Fairfax Area.

I own property in Westwood.

I am adding my name to the list of those voters who feel Jack Weiss should be recalled. His office’s attitude toward his constituents is appalling.

Living off of Coldwater Canyon Drive, it took several months of hard work (informing neighbors) to get his office to respond to the possible re-surfacing of our section of Coldwater Canyon Drive which is in deplorable condition. His office and his staff consistently ignored our pleas to become active on our behalf.

It's good to know people are

wanting to join and clean house.....from the top down.

I believe it was last week in the news that a nationwide study declared Los Angeles to be the

#1 traffic congested city.  However, no study needed to tell me that…..nor anyone else living with this traffic chaos.  We need to use this information to point out how Jack Weiss and other city officials are ignoring our biggest problem and not aligning their time, money and energy to creating an infrastructure that support traffic flow before impacting our areas with more development and traffic jams.

He's selling out Laurel Canyon

This house has open building & safety violations that have exceeded the compliance date

This house also has been cited by L.A.F.D. for brush clearance...

the house is so over grown it looks like it's in the woods by it'self...

yet there are neighbors 6' away to the right and left

This house is also possibly involved in growing something indoors

Jack Weiss's office assured me this would all be taken care by 4/11

Jack Weiss knows about my problem...and is laughing all the way to the bank.

This man deserves to loose his job and be shamed at the same time.

Take him down.

Please call me, I am a activist in the Fairfax area of the 5th Council District and have been waiting for years for Weiss to be recalled.  I have information that might be useful.

I live on Burton Way, and there is going to be a huge project built right behind the Four Seasons Hotel on Doheny.  The buildings on the block between Almont and Wetherly and Burton Way and Third Street have quietly been sold and the group of 4 or 5 apartment buildings has been vacated (by forced relocation). 

We have been told that the whole block is to be razed to make room for a building the height of the Four Seasons hotel, probably more luxury condos.

This will take place closer than 500 feet from single family homes above Third Street as well as a large apartment complex (mine) which is just across the alley.

The destruction of a whole block and the construction of a ten or more story building will be a complete nightmare.  The tenants in this building are worried about not only the noise, but the dust and for many of us the loss of our view and light.

This project was not mentioned to anyone, we know about it from heresay, but we've watched the buildings be vacated and now security guards occupy the buildings on the block. 

This is also in Jack Weiss's district and I believe it to be an illegal project.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My wife and I are constituents of Jack Weiss, and we independently came to the conclusion that Jack Weiss was in the pockets of the big developers.  We live in the Westside Village area, and Jack Weiss has come to our Association meetings.  We have noticed that he is not interested in meeting his constituents or listening to our concerns.  He comes late to the meetings, and leaves early so no one can talk to him personally.  At the latest meeting, he got up to answer questions only.  The questions had to be written down in advance.  I submitted the question of why so much development was being allowed without the transportation systems in place to service it.  His answer was, "We need development."   Then he left.  I E-mailed him the next day and got no reply. 

I would like to participate by getting signatures on petitions.  I do not live in CD 5 but I am against what

Councilmember Weiss is doing to encourage development without input from his community.

Please advise as to where I can get petitions. 

Weiss is mobilizing his billionaire developer friends to launch a fundraiser.  one of the two throwing the fundraiser is Tim Leiweke of aeg.

For an evening reception

To meet and support

Councilmember Jack Weiss

Candidate for City Attorney

Thursday, June 28, 2007

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

9050 Oriole Way

Los Angeles, CA 90069

Dear Editor:

I have co-owned a home in the mid-Wilshire area for almost 15 years.  During that time, I have seen a lot of changes in my neighborhood, some of them for better and many for worse.

Regardless, I have never served on a neighborhood committee or taken any political action either for or against any council member or developer or than voting in local elections.

Today, I received a phone call from a woman who claimed she was taking a survey for an independent company concerning quality of life issues affecting my neighborhood.

Although reluctantly, I agreed to take a few minutes to participate in her survey as I thought it might benefit my neighborhood.

Although her initial questions were indeed about the quality of life in our neighborhood, she began asking questions relating to the recall effort against Jack Weiss.  Since I have observed Weiss sell out our area to developers over the past years, I did not mind expressing my support for the recall.  

However, I soon noticed that the survey-taker kept asking the same questions about Weiss's recall but simply phrased differently.  I assumed then this was a survey being taken to determine the popularity of this recall effort.

However, the surveyor suddenly started to ask if I would still support the Weiss recall effort if I knew that... and then she began making statements discrediting the purpose and intent behind the recall.  Among the allegations were the claims that it was disgruntled developers behind the recall and as well as neighborhood association leaders on the take by those developers and these same neighborhood leaders were now punishing Jack Weiss for not paying them off  50 million dollars they had demanded to go away.

I immediately realized this "independent survey" was obviously being funded by people in Jack Weiss' camp and not a legitimate survey at all.   More importantly, I knew her allegations were simply ridiculous.

I told this alleged survey-taker that, given her obviously loaded "questions," it was apparent to me she was not an independent survey but was offering further evidence of Weiss's political corruption by her transparent disinformation tactic.  I thanked her for removing any doubt in my mind as to his dishonesty and desperation.

I asked her to please tell her employers that she has done a great service in removing any doubt in my mind to Weiss's culpability and that, thanks to her, I would not only ensure my recall vote is counted but inform everyone in my neighborhood how low Weiss will go to save his greedy, guilty ass.

The survey-taker hung up on me and yet I had not finished taking her survey. 

I am guessing others will be contacted by the same "survey-taker" and hope they will be likewise inspired.

Most sincerely yours,

Your recent actions in respect of the 10131 Constellation Blvd. project is an insult to your constituents and a disgrace to your office.  Barring a clear change in your position on this issue and a redress of the damage you have caused …, I will be actively campaigning against your re-election.

My God, Weiss, how badly can you screw things up?  Or, more accurately, how much do you feel you can get in campaign contributions from the developer for your next election…

Your positions on this effort and your statements concerning congestion are really laughable...or would be if they were not so important.  Where do you live, anyway?  Are you not affected by traffic as are the rest of us?  Does your wife never complain?  Or are you simply oblivious to the whole thing???

As should be evident by now, the community will not stand for this.  I have lived on the westside for 20 years, and I never have seen anything like the heated community response on this issue.  A smart politician would reconsider his position now rather than try to undo the political fall-out later. 

I have observed your political career, as our City Councilman over the last five years and I am disappointed to say the least.  Attending many City Council meetings, as a lobbyist, I would see your seat empty, you on the cell phone, or using your text message machine while a meeting was in session. 

As a 38 year resident of Cheviot Hills, I can say that I have never been so disappointed.  It appears that Councilman Jack Weiss  is far more supportive of the buildup of Century City, and not the residents surrounding it.  Absolutely unacceptable.

You have truly proven with this action that you are no better than any other politician, perhaps worse, in thinking about your own vested interests before those of the communities you represent.  My campaign promise to you is that I will actively support anyone who seeks to replace you in the next election...how could they possibly represent my interests, and those of my neighbors, in any worse way ?

I thought it was impossible or anyone to do anything more to give politicians a bad name - but you have managed to do that.

You MUST listen to local Westside groups. You have broken the covenant by which you were elected, and sold us out. Unless you can act in accordance with my and other homeowner representatives on this matter, I will support any lawsuit against you and/or the developer with my voice, my pocketbook--and my vote against you.

What you have done is appalling and disgraceful.  We hear about sleazy politicians, but we don't expect this type of behavior in our own backyard.  How you can look yourself in the mirror when you have taken credit for what others… makes one wonder what sort of kick-back you may be receiving.  If there is ever an opportunity to campaign and vote against you in the future, you can bet many of us will happily work toward that end.  Shame, shame, shame on you, Jack Weiss.

Jack Weiss: You have undermined the ability of the various schools, homeowners associations to have guaranteed predictable income and made it a "political" boondoggle for years to come, long after you have left the council. We feel a complete sense of betrayal by an elected official who was put in office to protect our interests.

Shame on you. As usual you keep proven you are only looking out for yourself. You are just another hack., We will vote you out of office.

It is a real tragedy that you were elected by your constituents who expected you to represent them but instead, appear to be representing those who have helped you fund your campaign(s)--the developers.  Those living and working in and around Century City are the real losers and it is we who must use the woefully inadequate arterials to navigate the gridlocked streets which you have helped to over populate. 

Because of you and how you run the Council Office, I so wish that we never lost our previous councilman!  He was true to his District and he cared about the community! It's becoming clear to me that you don't and that you only care about Jack Weiss. Please do not send me any of your office rhetoric, I'm not interested in your version of "Spin City".

I am against any development that will further impede my ability to navigate throughout my neighborhood. I have lived here for 63 years, and traffic congestion is a nightmare. Your intrusion upon the scene is not all right with me, and I will never vote for you again. We need a 'for the people' person in your position.

I can only assume that you are not planning to run for re-election -- because you will not get re-elected.  I am a public relations consultant and I will personally make sure that you do not get re-elected.

Your attitude is astonishing.  Your voting record has turned me off.  Your will lose when you next run for office because lots of us will vote for almost anyone but you.  Your ethnic following, of which I am part, is flowing away. Start representing the interests of your constituents and the tide may once again turn in your favor.

Please keep in mind that as our elected representative, you’re primary mission is to protect and improve upon our living standard. Although balance is important, to choose a developer over your constituency is very disturbing.

The traffic and congestion around Cheviot has completely changed the quality of life for homeowners. Instead of destroying our community with new developments, you should be working to help ease congestion.  The developers are ruining our community -- please support your community instead of your campaign account.

We are just two of the many residents of the affected area.  Still, we want it known that we absolutely support the efforts and viewpoints of the Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association and have absolute disdain for what you have done to subvert such efforts.

Dear Jack,

I sure wish you represented the citizens of this city instead of just the big developers. 

And as for the Constellation project, do you really believe that 106 stories of residential towers generates less traffic than a defunct nightclub that operates 2 days a week?  How much do they have to contribute for you to accept such idiocies with a straight face?