http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82r3sdr No online items Joel Wachs Papers Clay Stalls William H. Hannon Library Loyola Marymount University One LMU Drive, MS 8200 Los Angeles, CA 90045-8200 Phone: (310) 338-5710 Fax: (310) 338-5895 Email: [email protected] URL: http://library.lmu.edu © 2013 Loyola Marymount University. All rights reserved. Joel Wachs Papers CSLA-29 1 Joel Wachs Papers Collection number: CSLA-29 William H. Hannon Library Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California Processed by: Clay Stalls Date Completed: 2006 Encoded by: Clay Stalls © 2013 Loyola Marymount University. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Joel Wachs papers Dates: 1951-2002 Bulk Dates: 1969-2002 Collection number: CSLA-29 Creator: Wachs, Joel Collection Size: 116 archival document boxes, 1 records storage box, 4 oversize boxes, 4 flat files Repository: Loyola Marymount University. Library. Department of Archives and Special Collections. Los Angeles, California 90045-2659 Abstract: This collection contains constituent correspondence, mayoral and city council campaign records, and some personal papers of Joel Wachs, Los Angeles city councilman from 1971 until 2001. The holdings are especially valuable for understanding the critical mayoral campaigns in Los Angeles in 1993 and 2001, as well as issues of concern to the constituents of his city council district. These materials are not official city records; the official records of his city council tenure are located in the Los Angeles City Archives (213-473-8449). To learn more about the contents of this collection and their organization, consult the following sections of this on-line guide. Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English Access Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University. Publication Rights Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Joel Wachs Papers, CSLA-29, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University. Acquisition Information Gift of Joel Wachs, 2005. Accession number: 2005.66. Processing Information Some photographs and campaign contribution information have not been processed. Joel Wachs Biography Joel Wachs was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1939, but grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from Washington High School in 1957. He continued his education in Los Angeles, at UCLA, where he received the B.A. in Political Science, with Joel Wachs Papers CSLA-29 2 honors, in 1961. Wachs then enrolled in Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1964. He then continued his post-graduate work in law by earning a Master's degree in tax law from New York University in 1965. Joel Wachs returned to his hometown of Los Angeles to practice corporate tax law. In 1971, his skillfully managed campaign for the office of Los Angeles City Councilmember for District 2--the San Fernando Valley area of Encino, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and Studio City--forced incumbent James Potter into a run-off election, which Wachs handily won. This began thirty years of service for Wachs in the city council that has left a strong mark on the history of the city. Wachs (himself homosexual) was responsible for the passage of the city's landmark anti-AIDS discrimination law in 1985, one of the first, if not the first, such statutes in the nation. A vigorous supporter of the arts and a keen collector of modern art, Wachs realized a dream when, through his leadership, the Los Angeles City Council passed legislation in 1988 establishing the Los Angeles Endowment for the Arts, a trust fund for cultural events and projects. Other issues that Wachs strongly supported included rent control and assistance for the city's elderly. The proverbial fiscal watchdog, he initially opposed the building of the Staples Center, an arena for the professional hockey and basketball teams of Los Angeles, over city financing of the developers. Wachs stood firm for open negotiations between the developers of the Staples Center and the city and for guarantees on the repayment of city money by developers through revenues collected from the venue's use above and beyond normal city tax revenues generated there. The City Council approved, in 1997, a plan for the Staples Center that provided for the developers to make up any shortfall in revenues necessary to cover the city's financial commitment. Wachs assumed the presidency of the Los Angeles City Council in 1981, in a controversial election that saw outgoing City Council President John Ferraro maneuver Wachs into the presidency rather than Pat Russell, an ally of Ferraro's opponent, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky. In 1986, the 2nd Council District was redrawn, leaving Wachs with only 10% of his former district; Sunland and Tujunga were communities now in his district and more rural than his previous constituencies. Displaying his trademark ingenuity, Wachs adapted himself to the new district, even to the extent of throwing a country western music festival for his new constituents. He easily won re-election in 1987. Wachs ran, unsuccessfully, three times for mayor. After his last loss (2001) he resigned from his city council position to assume the presidency of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a position that he still holds. Collection Description Joel Wachs himself donated the Joel Wachs Papers to the CSLA Research Collection in June 2005. They consist of correspondence, city campaign forms, newspaper articles, some photographs, audiocassettes and videocassettes, ephemera, and campaign materials such as schedules, briefing papers, speeches, appointment books, fact sheets, polls, and campaign consultants' bids and agreements. Because of Wachs's long-tenure in the city council, the collection is a source for understanding important issues in the history of Los Angeles in the last twenty-five years of the twentieth century: rent control, development, AIDS, the Rodney King incident and subsequent riot, economic development, Jews in Los Angeles, the arts, and public education in Los Angeles. Some financial records from Wachs's city council and mayoral races have not yet been processed because of privacy concerns but will become available for research use in the collection as staff makes copies with private information deleted. The dates of the materials run from 1951 to 2001; the bulk are 1969-2002. Arrangement The Joel Wachs Papers have been divided into eleven series (some with subseries, and one with a sub-subseries) based on subject or type of materials: Series 1: Constituent Correspondence. Subseries A: Main Constituent Correspondence Series 1: Constituent Correspondence. Subseries B: Issues Series 1: Constituent Correspondence. Subseries C: Wachs Personal Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries A: 1971 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries B: 1975 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries C: 1979 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries D: 1983 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries E: 1987 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries F: 1991 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries G: 1995 Series 2: City Council Races. Subseries H: 1999 Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries A: 1973 Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries B: 1983 Joel Wachs Papers CSLA-29 3 Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries C: 1993 Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries C: 1993. Sub-Subseries 1: Issues Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries D: 2001 Series 3: Mayoral Races. Subseries D: 2001. Sub-Subseries 1: Issues Series 4: City Council Presidency Series 5: Speeches Series 6: Campaign Supporters Lists Series 7: Personal Papers Series 8: Audiocassettes and Videocassettes Series 9: Ephemera and Photographs Series 10: Appointment Books Series 11: Scrapbooks Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Wachs, Joel. 1939- Wachs, Joel -- Archives Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Politics and government -- 1951- -- Sources City council members--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles. City Council Elections--California--Los Angeles Series 1: Constituents Correspondence. 1971-2000 Physical Description: 40 archival document boxes Scope and Content Note This series consists of favorable letters, faxes, and written records of phone messages from the constituents of Joel Wachs's Council District 2. These materials were filed in the "Good Letters" files in Joel Wachs office, with the date typed on the side of the correspondence to facilitate the filing of the letters chronologically. This series' holdings provide evidence on such issues as rent control, crime, taxation, and maintenance of the city infrastructure. Correspondents of note include Richard Riordan, Sheila Kuehl, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tom Bradley, Duke Comegys, Daryl Gates, Ed Davis, Shirley MacLaine, and Charlton Heston. Two groups of letters came filed separately from the general constituent correspondence under the titles of "Wachs-Personal"