The hotly contested race to represent Los Angeles City Council District 11 just got hotter. Jim Murez announced he would be competing for the seat currently held by Mike Bonin.

Murez, who is president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, made the announcement via a press release on Jan. 6, the one year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, to draw attention to the need to reject “hyperbolic attacks” and focus on the “very serious issues that need to be addressed in this City and particularly in this district.”

Jim Murez Courtesy of Jim Murez

Murez is a longtime Venice activist who served 12 years on the Land Use and Planning Committee of the neighborhood council. He also runs the Venice Farmers Market and planted the hundreds of sycamore trees along Venice Boulevard. A native of the nearby Westchester neighborhood, Murez is also an inventor, holding patents on the first laptop computer.

Murez’s daughter Andrea Murez competed made aliyah to Israel in 2014 and competed with Team Israel in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics.

Council District 11, which includes Venice and the Pacific Palisades, has been in political turmoil lately as residents confront rising homelessness and crime. A recall effort for current Council Representative Bonin garnered over 39,000 signatures. In December the Los Angeles City Clerk the recall would proceed to the verification stage.

Despite that potential complication, so far six candidates have entered the race to compete against the incumbent: Allison Holdorff Polhill, Traci Park, Gary Copeland, Matthew Smith, Vincent Sulaitis and Murez.

Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT