Westside Citizens Groups Move to Recall City Councilman Jack Weiss

Other groups are said to be considering a recall campaign against Councilwoman Jay Perry as well. Perry is well known as one of the council’s most corrupt members. Her support of developer Ralph Horowitz against the people of her own district has been well documented.

But for now it is Councilman Jack Weiss that is in the crosshairs of angry citizens who are sick of seeing their once quite streets over built with poorly designed condos. “One by one these small houses are being torn down and in their place we get these ugly stucco boxes”, said one resident of Weiss’ district recently. “This use to be a nice street with yards and big trees and now its all like this, nothing but four story condos”

Low to moderate income residents of Weiss’ district are being driven from their neighborhood, unable to keep up with rising rent and the destruction of affordable housing. “This is a pattern we are seeing all over the city” said another member of these newly formed citizen action groups.

The Recall Jack Weiss groups are well funded and recently gained new allies after Weiss voiced support for Caltrans’ plan to seize close to 30 homes along the 405 freeway as part of their freeway widen project. Why Weiss would support a project that seizes people homes is unknown but his position is not making him very well liked by those in danger of losing their homes.

These homes happen to be in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood. “These are million dollar homes all of them”, said a homeowner near the area. “My home is safe for now, but this puts the freeway closer to my house and what if they widen it again some day” Ironically these homes are quite near the gates to the estate of developer Ralph Horowitz, the man who destroyed the South Central Farm.

The Recall Jack Weiss drive is gaining momentum and the outcome might be a good indicator of where the city is headed.