Land Use, Bikes, and City Hall

Now that the city has a bunch of run-offs after last week's election, perhaps it's time to check back in with the candidates? An overlooked piece at the LA Times, here's the strange case of Benjamin Reznik, a lobbyist who has filed more than "150 lawsuits against the city's boards, commissions and elected officials" during his career, but who also is a frequent campaign fundraiser for numerous politicians ranging from Jack Weiss to Rocky Delgadillo to Ed Reyes. Given Renzik's ties with the real estate industry (clients include Orsini developer Geoffrey Palmer), some question his fundraising efforts for politicians. By no means does it sound like everyone always sides with Renzik, but likely he--and his clients--usually get their calls returned by those in City Hall. Read more about the Reznick/Weiss connection here. Meanwhile, covering another run-off, Los Angeles magazine's Matt Segal reports that a local bike blogger asked candidates running for the 5th District seat to provide their opinions on bike-related issues. Writes Segal: "...[David] Vehedi’s demonstrated the greatest familiarity with and sympathy to the challenges cyclists face. He also took in 60 more votes than the man he will be facing in the May runoff, Paul Koretz, who provided no statement. Did Vahedi’s cycling smarts efforts make the difference? Who knows, but they’re indicative of the city’s growing cycling movement." More here. [LA Times/LA Mag]