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WESTSIDE - Jeremy Wineberg sees himself as a "citizen candidate," and not a politician as he becomes the third candidate in the race for a council seat in LA's District 11 where incumbent Traci Park is seeking reelection as the "common sense" moderate, while her primary opponent, civil rights lawyer Faizah Malik, is the candidate of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Park, an attorney and resident of Venice, has been a strong supporter of cleaning up encampments and illegal RV parking.
Wineberg, an entrepreneur who resided in the Palisades before the wildfires, rounds out the race here in CD-11.
Here is the unedited interview with the first-time hopeful:
What is your primary motivation to run for LA city council and tell us a little about yourself?
My house burned down in the Palisades fire. I’m not running because of the fire, I’m running because of what I found after it. A City Hall that ignores warnings, delays responses, and walks away before the job is done. I’m an entrepreneur, not a career politician. I’ve spent my career building businesses and solving operational problems. I looked at the way the City runs District 11 and saw a broken operation that no one is willing to fix. I’m running to be the operator this district needs.
My full bio is at www.votewineberg.com
Do you have a campaign in place, and how much do you anticipate it will cost to be competitive against two well-funded opponents?
Yes, we have a campaign team in place and we are actively raising funds. We’re participating in the City’s public matching funds program, which means every dollar donated up to $143 unlocks six dollars from the City. That’s a powerful equalizer. My campaign is built on local volunteers and a plan so specific that it resonates immediately at the door. Residents are tired of slogans; they want the operational details we’re providing.
What is your assessment of the city’s response to the wildfires a year later? How would you grade the effort?
I’d give it a D. The initial emergency response from firefighters was heroic. Everything after that has been a bureaucratic failure. Residents are still fighting with insurance companies, still waiting on soil testing, still stuck in permit limbo to rebuild on their own land. I lost my home, so I’ve lived every step of this process. The City has no single point of contact for fire victims. You’re bounced between agencies and left to figure it out yourself. My first act in office will be to open a Disaster Recovery HQ in our field office with a dedicated case manager whose only job is to help fire victims navigate rebuilding.
Homelessness & Housing: District 11 has some of the highest visible homelessness in the city. What specific actions would you take in your first year to reduce street homelessness here, and how would you measure success?
I have a 3-step protocol: Offer, Restore, Hold. First, we secure bridge housing through Master Leasing: renting motels and apartment, so we have somewhere to offer before we enforce. Second, once a site is cleared through lawful process, we deep-clean and restore the block. Third and this is what nobody else does, we hold it. My office assigns that block to a maintenance rotation. If a tent goes back up, our team is there same-day. I call it Zero Rekindle. I’d measure success by tracking the rekindle rate at 30, 90, and 180 days and publishing those numbers publicly every month.
Affordable Housing vs. Neighborhood Character: How do you balance the need for more housing, especially affordable housing with concerns from residents about density, traffic, and neighborhood character?
You build the missing middle. Right now the system produces luxury condos for the wealthy and shelters for the unhoused and nothing for the teachers, nurses, and firefighters in between. I would fast-track workforce housing projects and pursue fee waivers for homeowners who build an ADU and rent it to a local worker or senior. That unlocks thousands of units in backyards without building a single tower. Density belongs on commercial corridors like Pico and Sawtelle, not in the middle of single-family neighborhoods.
Coastal & Environmental Protection: What is your plan to protect the coastline and coastal neighborhoods from sea-level rise, erosion, and climate impacts, and how would you fund those efforts?
The most immediate coastal threat isn’t sea-level rise, it’s sewage. The Hyperion plant spilled 17 million gallons into our ocean and the root cause hasn’t been fixed. I would commission an independent engineering audit of Hyperion’s storm readiness and fast-track the water recycling program so every gallon gets reused instead of dumped. I’d push to triple fines for illegal industrial dumping in the Coastal Zone. We fund this through enforcement revenue and by demanding that the Bureau of Sanitation prioritize infrastructure over bureaucracy.
Public Safety: Residents report concerns about both violent crime and quality-of-life issues (theft, encampments, vandalism). What does “public safety” mean to you, and how would you improve it without relying solely on policing?
Public safety means you feel safe walking to the store at night. Right now, the City’s only answer is “more police funding,” which takes years to hire. I would create a Community Corps: paid, trained residents who serve as Safe Passage Monitors on school routes and in parks. Observe, report, de-escalate, call for help. I’d also fund Neighborhood Safety Grants to put motion lights and Ring Doorbells, on your property. We’re funding your front porch, not a surveillance system. Police are critical but they can’t be the only tool.
Transportation & Traffic: District 11 struggles with congestion and limited transit options. What are your priorities for improving transportation, and where do you stand on expanding bus lanes, bike infrastructure, and car-reduction policies? Should there be a greater investment in the city’s rapid transit map?
My first priority is banning "Ghost Construction": lanes closed with no workers in sight. If a contractor closes a lane, work must be happening or they face escalating fines. Second, I’d pilot smart traffic signals at our worst intersections that actually respond to real-time conditions instead of running on broken sensors from the 1980s. On bike lanes, I’m pro-flow, not pro-ideology. I won’t support removing a car lane unless the data proves it reduces overall congestion. And yes, we need more investment in rapid transit, the Expo Line moves 20,000 people an hour while a freeway lane moves 2,000. Making transit safe and clean is the best thing we can do for drivers.
Accountability & Ethics: After years of City Hall scandals, how will you ensure transparency and ethical decision-making in your office? Would you support stronger ethics or lobbying reforms?
I will publish a live District Dashboard with monthly metrics: encampment rekindle rates, pothole repair times, permit processing speeds, illegal dumping response times. If I’m failing, you’ll see the red numbers. I treat constituents like board members and report results, not press releases. I would absolutely support stronger ethics and lobbying reforms. City Hall has earned the distrust. You rebuild trust through radical transparency, not by asking people to believe you.
Small Businesses: Many small businesses are still recovering post-pandemic. What concrete steps would you take to help local businesses survive rising rents, regulation costs, and staffing shortages?
If your project is stuck in the City’s permit system, my office will assign a dedicated Navigator, a real human with a phone number, to track it down and push it through. I will fight for a 90-day decision on projects that meet code. I would require chain stores to go through a Conditional Use Permit process while local businesses get approved in days. If a storefront is sitting empty, I’d create a streamlined pop-up permit so a local brand can move in for 90 days and fill the window immediately. I also believe pandemic-era outdoor patios that were inspected and approved should be grandfathered in, if they were safe for three years, they’re safe today.
Emergency Preparedness: From earthquakes to wildfires to extreme weather, how prepared is District 11 for emergencies right now, and what gaps would you prioritize fixing? What have we learned from last year’s wildfire tragedy?
We are not prepared. The fire proved that. We learned that our emergency notification systems failed; evacuation routes were gridlocked, and there was no centralized recovery coordination after the fact. The biggest gap is post-disaster response; there is no playbook for helping residents rebuild. I would establish a permanent Disaster Recovery operation in our field office, so we’re not starting from zero when the next earthquake or fire hits. I’d also demand that any Olympic traffic plan guarantees sub-5-minute emergency response times to every home in D-11, because the 2028 Games will test our infrastructure like nothing before.
Constituent Services: How will your office respond to everyday resident issues like potholes, sanitation, illegal dumping, and encampment complaints, and how fast should constituents expect responses? How will you implement technology to make the government more accountable?
My office will run like a business. Every resident complaint gets a ticket number and a timeline. We publish our response targets and our misses. Seniors over 65 get a Gold Card, a physical card with a direct phone number to my office where a human answers. For illegal dumping, I’m funding a dedicated D11 Clean Team from my discretionary budget that removes dumped items in hours, not days. Technology-wise, I’d implement a simple text-to-report system, snap a photo, send it, get a ticket number, track the resolution. Accountability isn’t about fancy apps. It’s about publishing results and not hiding when you miss.
Vision for District 11: If you’re successful, what will District 11 look like at the end of your term - and how will residents know that your leadership made a real difference? Do you support any elements of charter reform such as expanding the size of the city council?
Streets that stay clean after they’re cleaned. Permits that move at the speed of business. Seniors who can call a real person. Single parents who have after-school options. A Venice that’s vibrant, not vacant. You’ll know the difference because I’ll publish the numbers every month and if I’m failing, you won’t need me to tell you. You’ll see it on the Dashboard.
On expanding the City Council, I’m open to the conversation. Fifteen members representing four million people means each district has nearly 270,000 residents. That’s the size of a mid-sized city. It’s worth studying whether a larger council would deliver better representation, but I won’t support expansion just for the sake of it, it has to come with structural reforms that actually improve service delivery.
What is your assessment regarding preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics and the upcoming FIFA World Cup?
District 11 is ground zero, Venice hosts events, Riviera hosts golf, UCLA is the Olympic Village, SoFi has the Opening Ceremony. Everyone is talking about the party. Nobody is talking about the hangover. I would implement a Resident Passport so locals get waved through traffic perimeters while tourists are turned around. I will not approve any Olympic traffic plan that can’t guarantee emergency response times to every home in the district. And I’d strictly enforce the short-term rental ordinance during the Games, no turning your neighbor’s house into a frat party. For the World Cup, the same principles apply: residents first, events second.
LA is in a financial crisis. What will be your approach to budgeting, hiring, collective bargaining, and dealing with the DWP? Is there a benefit to owning a public utility?
LA has a structural budget problem, not just a revenue problem. We spend billions and can’t point to proportional results. I would demand performance terms in every city contract, if a vendor misses their targets, we stop paying for failure. On collective bargaining, I believe in fair contracts that deliver results for both workers and the public. Contracts should include measurable service delivery standards, not just wage increases. The DWP is a complicated asset, public ownership gives us control over rates and infrastructure investment that a private utility wouldn’t. But that only works if the utility is run transparently. I’d push for independent audits and public reporting of DWP performance so ratepayers know exactly where their money goes.
Venice Beach is an undervalued asset and destination. Would you support a public/private management of this park like a redevelopment agency or restoration corporation? Would you support construction of a Hollywood Bowl style structure or minor league stadium to draw tourism back to Oceanfront Walk?
Venice Beach is one of the most recognized destinations in the world and we’re squandering it. I’m open to exploring a public-private management model, something like a conservancy that brings investment and maintenance standards while keeping the space publicly owned and accessible.
On a concert venue or stadium, let’s be clear: Venice is a neighborhood, not a theme park. I support restoring the cultural vibrancy of Oceanfront Walk, but I will not support a stadium or large-scale venue that blasts noise into residential homes and gridlocks our streets. The goal is to restore Venice as a destination residents are proud of, not to sell it out.
(Nick Antonicello is a thirty-three-year resident of the neighborhood of Venice who is covering the race for city council here in District 11. Have a take or a tip? Contact him via e-mail at [email protected] )
