Paul Koretz

Koretz stated that the bill would "have a neighborhood with little 1920s, '30s and '40s single-family homes look like Dubai 10 years later".

After his marriage, he and his wife, Gail, moved less than a mile away from his parents' home to an area where his father lived upon immigrating to Los Angeles in 1939 after escaping Nazi Germany.

Koretz cites his experience growing up as the son of an immigrant parent who worked as a waiter and union member of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union as one of his biggest influences.

Paul Koretz (born April 3, 1955) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 5th district from 2009 until he was term-limited in 2022.

He was previously a member of the California State Assembly and the West Hollywood City Council.

While still a student at UCLA in the 1970s, he ran and was defeated for a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

After graduation, Koretz worked as an aide to former Los Angeles City Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky in 1975, and next as an aide to Los Angeles City Councilmember Marvin Braude in 1984.

Koretz earned a bachelor's degree in history from UCLA in 1979, where he was a founder of the "Bruin Democrats".

In 1984, Koretz supported the creation of the City of West Hollywood from what was then unincorporated Los Angeles County.

Koretz campaigned for the city's incorporation while managing the City Council campaign of Alan Viterbi and served as Viterbi's deputy after his election.

Upon Viterbi's retirement in 1988, Koretz was elected to the West Hollywood City Council.

In 1988, Koretz sponsored a citywide ban on semi-automatic rifles, which built momentum for a subsequent statewide "assault weapons" ban.

As Councilman, Koretz appointed Kevin Norte to the city's Rent Stabilization Commission in 1992.

Norte was the commission's first openly gay chair for two one-year terms.

Koretz also appointed Equality California leader attorney John Duran to replace Norte as Koretz's appointee to the Rent Stabilization Commission.

Duran would go on to succeed Koretz on the West Hollywood City Council.

In 1996, Koretz co-sponsored the city's ban on "Saturday Night Specials."

The city was the first to enact such a ban, which survived various legal challenges by the National Rifle Association of America.

Koretz also sponsored an ordinance limiting handgun purchases to one gun per month in order to cut the resale of guns on the black market.

Koretz served as Mayor and City Councilman for twelve years before being elected to the State Assembly.

Koretz represented the 42nd district in the California State Assembly from 2000 to 2006, serving the maximum three terms allowed under California term limit law.

The district included West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Universal City, and the portions of the City of Los Angeles encompassing the Sunset Strip, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Los Feliz, Westwood, Brentwood, Studio City, Encino, Sherman Oaks, and North Hollywood/Valley Village.

From his first year in the Assembly to his exit due to term limits, Koretz served as the Chair of the Assembly Labor Committee.

He also chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Gun Violence and the Assembly Select Committee on California's nursing shortage.

Koretz was also a member of the Health, Public Safety, Business & Professions, Insurance and Natural Resources committees.

Koretz was the first Southern California Director of the California League of Conservation Voters and served as administrative director of the Ecology Center of Southern California.

In the Assembly, he introduced legislation requiring retailers profiting from the most commonly littered items to share some of the costs of removing trash from storm water runoff, and he is the joint-author of legislation to ban the use of dry cleaner solutions found to be carcinogenic.

Koretz's former colleague on the West Hollywood City Council, Abbe Land, was a candidate for Koretz's seat in the California State Assembly, and faced former Los Angeles City Council member Mike Feuer in the June 6, 2006 Democratic primary.

Koretz endorsed Feuer, who defeated Land, winning 52.4% of the vote to her 36.3%.

In June 2007, Koretz was appointed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to the California Board of Podriatic Medicine.

In 2009, Koretz began his first term as a City Councilmember representing the 5th District of Los Angeles.

In 2009, Koretz called for a city-wide ban on the declawing of cats, saying the procedure caused ‘unnecessary pain, anguish and permanent disability’ to cats.

The council gave the ordinance unanimous final approval positioning the city as one of eight in the State to ban this procedure.

Koretz chaired the City Council's Personnel, Audits and Animal Welfare Committee since 2011 and lists an array of achievements related to animal rights and animal well-being during his tenure.

Declawing Cats Ban

He has been re-elected twice to the role, in 2013 and 2017.

In 2017, Koretz secured 65.88% of the vote in the city's primary election.

In 2018, Koretz lobbied successfully against California Senate Bill 827, which would have removed city control over local zoning.

In 2020, Paul Koretz, citing public safety concerns, voted against a bill to reduce the LAPD budget which passed by an 11–3 vote.

In the wake of racist comments by Council President Nury Martinez and other Councilmembers, Paul Koretz was one of the first Councilmembers, along with Mike Bonin and Nithya Raman, to call for the resignations of Martinez, Kevin De Leon, and Gil Cedillo.