Government
Jun. 1, 2001
L.A. Politician Resigns From Council Position
LOS ANGELES - Veteran Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs resigned Wednesday to take the top spot at the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a New York philanthropic group.
Even though his term does not end until June 2003, Wachs, a widely recognized collector of modern art and advocate for the arts, will hand over his keys to City Hall on Oct. 1.
"This was a chance of a lifetime," Wachs' chief of staff, Greg Nelson, said. "He knew the opportunity wasn't going to be there in two years."
As president and chief executive officer of the Warhol Foundation, Wachs will work to ward off "attacks" on the arts by conservatives like North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, according to Nelson.
"He'll be a national spokesman for freedom of expression," Nelson said. "He'll go to the Capitol and argue in hearings" if the need arises.
Wachs, an attorney and graduate of Harvard Law School, was elected to the City Council in 1971. He served as council president and president pro tem during 10 of his years as a lawmaker.
Wachs spearheaded a drive for neighborhood councils, a program geared toward decentralizing decision making in the city, during his run for mayor in 1993, according to Nelson. The council recently adopted a similar plan after Wachs persuaded commissions revamping the city charter in the late 1990s to provide for the creation of neighborhood councils, Nelson said.
Wachs' departure will leave "a vacuum of institutional memory," Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.
Yaroslavsky, who served with Wachs on the City Council from 1975 to 1994, said that veteran council members like Wachs "have heard all the suede-shoes-salesman arguments and know they're bogus."
Yaroslavsky said, "Joel ... was able to shine a light on nonsense."
Chris Ford
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