Perry Aims to Be L.A.'s First Female Mayor
Councilwoman Jan Perry has represented the issues of South Los Angeles for twelve years as the chief representative of the Ninth District -- but now she has her gaze on a much loftier goal: mayor of Los Angeles.
Perry is ranked as one of the top three likely candidates, just behind Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel; unlike the others, however, the councilwoman has an extensive history of representing one of the most underserved communities in Los Angeles.
As a woman, an African-American Jew, and a Spanish speaker, Perry says she crosses comfortably into all communities -- a quality that helps her understand the struggles of the everyday resident.
"I think all doors are open to me," she said. "And the greatest source of my passion is my desire to level the playing field for those who have been left behind."
A pro-business democrat, she has said a number of times that her top priority is stimulating the local economy by establishing a more business-friendly climate. The councilwoman stands against sales tax hikes, maintaining that they would further impede the circulation of the dollar; however, because of the city's expensive employee costs, Los Angeles's budget deficit has forced her to acknowledge ways to bring in revenue.
Perry estimates that if she can push public workers to contribute the same amount of their pension and healthcare costs as police and first responders, the city can save more than $40 million annually.
Requesting more fees from employees is an unpopular platform for a mayoral hopeful to take, but according to Perry, the main reason the other candidates haven't advocated for higher revenue through healthcare and pension costs is because of the political ramifications involved.
"Particularly if you're a candidate who's been more heavily endorsed by some of the more powerful public employee unions, you will not say we need those costs, because the people funding your campaign will not want you to say that," she said.
Mayoral candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel have both raised well over $4 million; some speculators are already calling Perry an "underdog" because of her campaign's comparative lack of financial contributions.
With more than $2 million raised, she has poured her resources into an aggressive mailing campaign to combat the television marketing of the other top contenders.
She challenges those who have already counted her out.
"We have phone banks, we have canvassers, we have everything running on all systems," she said. "I have enough money to run my race and to be very, very, very competitive."
