Eli Lipmen (Flickr/Creative Commons).

“[The race for city attorney] concerns us as citizens, they prosecute criminals," Lipmen said. "I think the current city attorney has not done its job and so I am supporting Mike Feuer who is running against them."

Lipmen continued, "He will actually live up to the potential of the office and what it could be doing. If I could choose only one race to vote in, it would be the city attorney."

Feuer is running against incumbent Carmen Trutanich, candidates Greg Smith and Noel Weiss. Feuer gained endorsements from several politicians including Sen. Barbara Boxer and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. 

For Lipmen, issues with the city range from the impact of the economy on L.A’s city services to the environment. Although the candidates have not visited his area, he believes there are two candidates who will improve the city’s streets and revitalize the economy. 

“I believe Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti have the best ability to serve the city.  Wendy Greuel has a lot of experiencing managing the budget and the finances of the city and Eric Garcetti is great at creating incentives.” 

Lipmen has personally known both candidates for several years. According to Lipmen, he has seen Greuel become a strong advocate for the environment and Garcetti take a stand for what he believes in, especially when it comes to immigration reform. 

“Garcetti has been a strong advocate for immigration reform for years and years, and that’s pretty important for me as a person," he said. "Fighting alongside him with immigration reform, I think is important and I think maintaining rights is important."

Special Order 40, a law that protects illegal immigrants from being arrested by LAPD, has recently come under question following the alleged murder of Jamiel Shaw and requests from citizens and voters to alter the bill. 

Lipmen said the order is one of the reasons he supports Greuel and Garcetti.

“With the system we currently have in Los Angeles, with Special Order 40 which [Garcetti and Greuel] both support, I think it's important to ensure that police don’t discriminate against immigrants.”

When it comes to a decision between Greuel and Garcetti, Lipmen laughed before he said, “Between my wife and I, our votes will cancel each other’s out.” 

Lipmen has voted for many years in both national and local elections. From his experience, he has a clear message for his fellow citizens: “Voting in local elections is so important because it impacts your daily life and your daily decisions down to things like street safety. You never know what can happen, there are a lot of firsts that can happen in this elections, like maybe even the first Jewish mayor.” 

Reach Contributor Chhaya Nene here.