Candidates for the 30th Congressional District participated in a debate on Feb. 10 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. (photo by Rance Collins)

On Feb. 10, candidates for the 30th Congressional District descended on the Wilshire Ebell Theatre for a debate led by FOX11 anchor Elex Michaelson. With 10 people crowding the stage, time was limited for spirited back-and-forth conversation, with rebuttals only necessitated on a couple of occasions.

For the majority of the 90-minute event, the candidates provided sound bites on their platforms and the pressing issues facing Los Angeles County. While polls have largely showed a three-way race between former Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Michaelson kept to one-minute responses for all candidates.

“I’ve moderated debates with two people before, and I’ve moderated debates with as many as 21 people before,” Michaelson said. “Obviously, with a smaller field you can do much more individualized questions and encourage more back and forth. With a larger field, the moderator has to make the questions more generic and be stricter on time limits to keep things fair and give everyone equal time.”

The field was largely in agreement on most issues, with nine of the congressional hopefuls running as Democrats. The lone Republican was physician Alex Balekian.

“I’m an endangered species – I am a pro-choice Republican,” Balekian said. “I grew up in a fiscally conservative, socially moderate immigrant household, and we are proud, California Deukmejian Republicans. What that meant was: keep the streets clean, keep the neighborhood safe, stay out of my bank account, stay out of my personal life.”

While politically opposed to the others on the stage, Balekian only threw a few light-hearted jabs at his opponents. Otherwise, the afternoon remained civil.

“I was struck by how civil, kind and respectful everyone was,” Michaelson said. “Almost no one took the chance to attack their opponents and stuck to a mostly positive tone.”

Also on stage were Los Angeles Unified Board of Education member Nick Melvoin, West Hollywood City Councilwoman Sepi Shyne, former senior U.S. State Department advisor Jirair Ratevosian, Silver Lake neighborhood councilmember Maebe A. Girl, former special assistant to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Steve Dunwoody and former Congressional policy advisor Francesco Arreaga. Notably absent was “Boy Meets World” actor Ben Savage, who led a failed campaign for West Hollywood City Council in 2022.

The crop of candidates includes several millennials and younger Generation X members, who each advocated for the importance of youth representation.

“I would represent some generational change,” Melvoin said, who noted former Rep. Henry Waxman endorsed his candidacy, saying Melvoin was “a bridge to the next generation of leadership in Washington.”

“We’ve got experience, we’ve got no shortage of different types of skills, but I think what’s needed in our district is a vision – a vision for the future, a vision that works for everyone,” Dunwoody said.

The group is running to replace outgoing Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) who has represented the area since 2001. Schiff was chair of the House Intelligence Committee under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and led the first impeachment trial against then-President Donald Trump.

“Adam Schiff has been a consequential national leader, and his successor has to be a proven national leader,” Feuer said. “I’m the only candidate in this race to have fought authoritarianism and stood up for democracy. I defeated Trump when he tried to make LAPD immigration enforcers as the price of getting public safety funding.”

Friedman said the difference was marked between the candidates not in their positions on issues, but what “we’ve leaned on and what we’ve led on.” She cited her record on tackling the homeless crisis, housing, traffic safety and public transportation.

“I’ve been effective at doing this,” Freidman said. “In a state that’s considered a leader in the environment in the nation, I’m considered one of the top climate and environmental leaders in California.”

Portantino said that his collaborative background made him the perfect person to replace Schiff.

“You don’t get things done by using the word ‘I,’ you get things done by working collaboratively,” Portantino said.

Girl ran for the seat against Schiff in 2022, coming in second place with 12.9% of the vote, and is the only Democrat to run against Schiff.

“I’m the only person here who had the audacity and political courage to run for this seat when it was not an open seat, because I felt as if I was not being represented, my community was not being represented,” Girl said.

Michaelson pointed out that whomever ends up winning the seat would have a reach far beyond the district, which encompasses Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Burbank and Glendale, among other parts of Los Angeles County.

“It’s rare that a congressional seat opens up in a deeply blue district in California,” Michaelson said. “Whoever wins this seat could be in the House for decades. Given the importance of this particular district, they have an opportunity to become a national figure.”

He said that because the seat is unlikely to be in contention again for a long time, it is important that constituents be engaged.

“In a race that’s this high stakes, this unpredictable and potentially this close, it’s especially important to get out and vote … because here it could be that every vote literally matters,” Michaelson said.

The California primary election is March 5. The top two vote getters will advance to the general election on Nov. 5 for a run-off. The full debate, which was co-sponsored by the Larchmont Buzz, is available for viewing youtube.com/larchmontbuzz.

Candidates for the 30th Congressional District discussed issues facing the community, including homelessness, housing and health care. (photo by Rance Collins)