Jan. 08--Los Angeles Councilman Felipe Fuentes said Friday that he will not run for reelection next year, ending his time as a city elected official after a single four-year term.
Fuentes, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, said he has spent 16 years in government and is looking for something different. The Sylmar resident served nearly six years in the state Assembly and was a political aide before that.
"I don't know what I'm going to do next," said Fuentes, who plans to step down when his term ends in June 2017. "I know that I will be 46 years old when I finish this term, and I want to write a new chapter, try a new career."
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Fuentes is the only council member in at least 20 years to announce he is stepping down after serving a single term without running for reelection or another office. Councilman Nick Pacheco was defeated in his bid for a second term in 2003 by former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa. Villaraigosa, in turn, left after two years on the council, vacating his post after winning his campaign for mayor.
Councilman Mike Bonin, who took office the same year as Fuentes, said he was "stunned and really, really disappointed" by the news. Bonin said he had worked with Fuentes on such issues as transportation, ride-sharing services and neighborhood livability.
"I have always been really impressed with how remarkably bright and thoughtful he is, and how much he added to the conversation," said Bonin, who represents coastal neighborhoods from Westchester north to Pacific Palisades.
Two people have filed fundraising paperwork to run for Fuentes' seat in the March 2017 election: Tujunga bookkeeper Bonnie Corwin and Nancy Woodruff, who serves on the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council. Woodruff said she was not surprised by Fuentes' decision, and that he had been facing criticism from his constituents on homelessness, public safety, traffic and other issues.
"People were not happy with the responses they were getting to get things done," said the Sun Valley resident.
Elected in 2013, Fuentes represents such neighborhoods as Pacoima, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills and Sunland-Tujunga. He heads the committee that will vet the Department of Water and Power's proposed rate hikes and serves on a panel that will review the city's strategies for combating homelessness.
Last fall, Fuentes faced protests from community activists upset over his decision to move the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council out of a city-owned building where it had previously held its meetings. Fuentes said the change will free up space for groups that address homelessness and other community issues.
"I'm not going to be apologetic for bringing more services into the district," he said.
In December, Fuentes' district director, Yolanda Fuentes Miranda, received a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury. The councilman declined to discuss that appearance. He said it had nothing to do with his decision to serve only one term.
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The L.A. Times reported last year that several aides to another Valley office holder, Councilwoman Nury Martinez, had received subpoenas to appear before the grand jury. An aide to U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas, who also represents part of the Valley, disclosed last year that she too had received a federal subpoena to appear.
Fuentes got his political start in 1999 working for then-Councilman Alex Padilla, who is now California's Secretary of State. He also worked as a liaison to the San Fernando Valley for Mayor James Hahn, just as city officials were fighting the Valley secession ballot measure.
Fuentes described his work on the council as "incredibly satisfying." But he said he did not feel he could make the same time commitment in a second term that he had in the first.
"I'm making a decision that my stewardship of 16 years is all I can do," he said.
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