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David Vahedi, a candidate for city councilman, knocks on doors while campaigning.

When voters in Los Angeles’ 5th District go to the polls March 8, David Vahedi hopes they will choose him for city councilman because he loves working with the community.

“I really am having the time of my life,” Vahedi said of his time campaigning. “My wife and I go door-to-door and it is the best part of our day.”

Vahedi is competing with the incumbent councilman Jack Weiss and Greg Martayan, a businessman.

The district is home to over 258,000 people in Encino, Sherman Oaks, Valley Village, Palms, Westwood, Century City, Beverlywood, the Fairfax District, Cheviot Hills and Carthay Circle and the area between the 405 freeway and Laurel Canyon.

Vahedi has lived in the 5th District all his life. Born in Santa Monica, he went to elementary school in Westwood, high school at Santa Monica High School and law school at Loyola Marymount University.

Vahedi is no stranger to local politics. A 38-year-old attorney who cofounded the Westside Neighborhood Council, he was an officer for the Westside Democratic Club, and he has served as a board member for the Santa Monica Homeowners’ Association for the last three years.

He decided to enter the city council race because he was frustrated with Jack Weiss, the incumbent city councilman.

Vahedi accused Weiss of taking contributions from big developers such as Casden Properties and allowing them to build large projects instead of siding with homeowners, failing to get the district its fair share of new police officers, and being unresponsive to the needs of the community.

“When you are a city councilman you have to love the potholes, the tree trimming, the everyday quality of life issues, the kind of things he has ignored,” Vahedi said.

Vahedi is endorsed by several Democratic groups in the district, including Bruin Democrats. But not all his supporters are Democrats, and not all Democrats are his supporters.

Stuart Siegel, the Republican councilman for Hidden Hills, met Vahedi while Vahedi was in law school and working for the State Board of Equalization. Siegel said he was impressed with Vahedi’s hard work.

“I think the district could do a lot better than it is doing with the current councilman,” Siegel said.

“I think (Vahedi) will be a lot more attentive to the needs of the community,” he said. “I think that is his asset, that he actually enjoys walking around the district, knocking on doors, and listening to people.”

Vahedi’s Democratic supporters include the California Democratic Council, San Fernando Valley Democratic Women’s Club and several Democratic clubs on the West Side of town. But Weiss has been endorsed by the official branch of the Democratic Party in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Democratic Club, an umbrella organization of 25 Democratic clubs on the West Side and in the Valley.

Jeff Daar, an elected member of the Los Angeles Democratic Party and chair of the San Fernando Democratic Party, said his organizations are endorsing Weiss because he has been an effective councilman who has been strong on responsible growth and environmental issues.

As evidence, Daar cited the endorsements Weiss has received from the presidents of 20 homeowners’ associations, including the Westwood Homeowners’ Association and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club.

Daar was not impressed by Vahedi’s criticisms of Weiss.

“David Vahedi should be sticking to the issues. I don’t think personal attacks are warranted or appropriate,” Daar said.

Although he and Weiss are both Democrats, Vahedi said Weiss has not taken action on what he sees as two of the most important issues facing the district – traffic and crime.

To deal with the traffic problem, Vahedi said if he was elected he would create a park-and-ride system to ferry commuters from the San Fernando Valley and the South Bay area to Westwood and Century City to decrease traffic on the 405.

And Vahedi said he would attack the problem of rising crime – though crime has decreased in Los Angeles, thefts and burglaries have increased in some parts of the 5th District – by fighting to get the 5th District its share of Los Angeles’ police officers and by revising the city’s burglar alarm policy.

Under the current system there is a $115 fine for false alarms, and the fine escalates $50 to $100 for each additional false alarm. Vahedi said he would like to see the proceeds from these fines go back to the LAPD to pay for more police officers.

But Vahedi has plans for more than traffic and crime.

He works as a pro bono attorney for the Friends of Animals organization in Los Angeles, and says the city could save millions of dollars and the lives of hundreds of dogs by selling them to nonprofit groups at reduced prices ($5 or $10 instead of the current $37). He said euthanizing animals costs the city $108 per animal. Vahedi said the plan could save millions of dollars per year.