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February 5, 2010 | 5:54 pm

Mayor Jan?

Posted by Rob Eshman

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Councilwoman Jan Perry

Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry walked into my office at 5 pm yesterday and declared she’s running for Mayor of the City of Los Angeles.

I asked her if that was for print.

She nodded. “It’s out there,” she said. “People know. I just haven’t made my announcement on the steps of City Hall.”

There is time for that.  The next mayoral race is in 2013; candidates don’t need to file until Jan. 11.

What Perry knows she does need is to become far more widely recognized.

She serves the Ninth District, covering downtown Los Angeles and south Los Angeles. Elected to office in 2001, her highest profile moment came this year when she served as Acting Mayor during the Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center.  Mayor Villaraigosa was out of town at the time.  She also received national attention for a drive to limit fast food outlets in her largely minority district as a way to curb childhood obesity.

I asked Perry what she wants to do for Los Angeles.

“Focus on the economy, find new sources of revenue, create jobs,” was her quick reply.

In her district, she campaigned on a platform of “money, funding, community.”  Perry handed me a blue folder with a couple of Xeroxed sheets listing her accomplishments. Among them: two wetland parks in highly urbanized South LA, a new $15 million multi-use City Hall there, a giant Fresh ‘n Easy grocery store, the LA Live complex of housing and retail across from the Staples Center.

So why did Perry come to see me?

For one, she’s Jewish.  Perry, who is also African-American, converted to Judaism more than 20 years ago under the teaching of Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller at UCLA Hillel. According to a 2001 profile of her in The Jewish Journal:

“Judaism’s emphasis on the here and now, she says, was a major attractant.
That and a “broad-minded, inclusive approach to community, and to celebrating the differences among us.”


Perry said she attends synagogue occasionally downtown at the loft shul of Chabad Rabbi Moshe Greenwald.  She documented her journey and political insights in a speech she gave last month at Sinai Temple, which was reprinted in part in The Jewish Journal:

I was deeply honored by the Anti-Defamation League earlier this year as a recipient of the ‘Deborah Award.’  Many people were surprised when I accepted the award that I declared as an African American, and as a Jewish woman the award meant a great deal to me.
Deborah was known for her great courage and functioned in many leadership roles: Military, Prophetess and Judge – women of the Torah offer us lessons in leadership courage, and the wise use of power.  As an elected official, I make important decisions and take actions that require fortitude of mind, strong convictions, and the courage that accompanies the development of public policy.
Strong leadership requires consistency, and a commitment to bringing understanding, compassion to decision-making, and faith in ones own ability. The Legislative process is detailed, and takes time.  Reasoning ability, communication, willingness to debate and defend ideas, and the tenacity needed to win is effortful and at times very hard.
In part, the faith I have in myself comes from my deep belief in my family.  The stern lessons they taught me are derived from their life experience and their first-hand accounts of some very harsh realities including fighting hard to find success in a divided country.  It comes from the lessons about how determined efforts may not always win out, but that a determined effort grounded in faith, hard work, and belief in our ability to make things work better is worth the effort.

She will undoubtedly turn to the Jewish community for votes and financial support.  She said she is looking to raise $1 million early on, then a total of $2.5 million to compete in a primary that will likely include Councilman Eric Garcetti (note: Jewish too) and deep-pocketed developer Rick Caruso.  The race could end up costing $5 million or more. Pocket change for Caruso, and doable for Garcetti, with a long list of Hollywood, Westside and Green movement contacts.  But for Perry— I guess it is a smart thing to announce, early and often.

 

16 Comments — Leave your comment

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I think a lot of people will question her votes in council when it came to AEG receiving those billboards even though the city attorney was against it. It was later learned Jan Perry and about 8 other council members received campaign money from AEG. Very odd Perry wouldn’t say a word about public safety even though her district is high in gang homicides. It will be extremely difficult against a well liked Rick Caruso

Comment by Dennis on 2/05/10 at 7:46 pm

doing what displeases HaShem G-D, here in TheTorah. is not how you cure the childhood obesity, or the unemployment curse of disbelief in G-D. and limiting fast food restraunts, is nothing more than building your own tower of babel. it is the wrong direction further away, going further away from, TheG-D WHO sends or does not send pestilence, plague, famine, based on your relationship with HIM. shalomcha vshalomech???,?...

Comment by jimmie boswell on 2/06/10 at 2:27 pm

Jan Perry will never have a chance unless someone shows her where the Valley is on the map and perhaps offers her some lessons in manners and civility.

Comment by David Diaz on 2/07/10 at 2:27 am

You’ve got to be kidding me. Jan Perry would be a disaster for Los Angeles - unless you’re AEG. She’s done some crazy, irresponsible things in her time, but the way she allowed City funds to be wasted on honoring Michael Jackson when AEG could well afford to pay the costs, shows us who and what this career politician is all about - pay to play. AEG has bankrolled Perry from day one, and when they want something; a police escort for the Jackson Show, or 18 digital billboards for their new theater, Perry delivers.

She lied about City Attorney Trutanich threatening to throw her in jail - there were witnesses present who know that all Carmen did was warn her that giving AEG 18 billboards was against the law she voted for. But that didn’t stop Perry from wailing that she was ‘threatened.’

AEG owns Jan Perry and are prepared to spend millions to make her Mayor so they can continue to get the best in LA. What about the rest of us? What chance do we have when someone like Perry can throw $3.4M away on the Jackson Show, and then go around like a bag lady asking for ‘donations’ to cover her waste?

I hope the Jewish Journal will look beyond faith case criteria, and give some of the other candidates a fair hearing. Eric Garcetti is probably the best candidate as he’s led the City Council through some serious disputes, and has always been fair and even handed. There’s also Assistant City Attorney David Berger who really would make a great Mayor if he can be persuaded to run. Perry is a very bad choice and I wish the Jewish Journal would be a little more careful before giving AEG a chance to run LA.

Comment by Jack on 2/08/10 at 1:13 am

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Comment by Abbott on 2/21/10 at 12:06 am

it’s true if he can be persuaded to run. Perry is a very bad choice and I wish the Jewish Journal would be a little more careful before giving AEG a chance to run LA.

Comment by david on 6/23/10 at 2:30 am

it’s true if he can be persuaded to run. Perry is a very bad choice and I wish the Jewish Journal would be a little more careful before giving AEG a chance to run LA.
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Comment by moncler on 7/11/10 at 6:57 am

She’s done some crazy, irresponsible things in her time, but the way she allowed City funds to be wasted on honoring Michael Jackson when AEG could well afford to pay the costs, shows us who and what this career politician is all about - pay to play.

Comment by hervé léger on 9/02/10 at 11:28 pm

It comes from the lessons about how determined efforts may not always win out, but that a determined effort grounded in faith, hard work, and belief in our ability to make things work better is worth the effort.

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Comment by Pas Cher Moncler on 10/19/10 at 12:32 am

I don’t feel Jan Perry would be a good candidate for mayor-she couldn’t head the city council correctly when
Eric Garcetti was acting mayor.Eric Garcetti has experience already acting as mayor-Jan Perry has not.what has she done that was better than Eric Garcetti
she is also the head person responsible for the Grand Ave. CRA diaster.No lets not have Jan Perry lets have
Eric Garcetti

Comment by donna pearman on 12/17/10 at 9:50 am

Thanks, Very interesting read, I’ve been really enjoying checking up your posts from time to time. Looking forward to see your future posts smile

Comment by dr dre headphones on 3/23/11 at 9:00 pm

so glad to see that others are not excited about Jan Perry for mayor-She would just be a larger city council
member-giving every thing they want-I want to know who
will help the city employees the best-If she doed that
I may vote for her & pray she has helpers run the city
for her-she can’t do without help-perhaps Eric Garcetti
would help her

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