WESTWOOD—On Wednesday, July 7, the first Westwood Neighborhood Council election results were released. According to Roxane Stern, a member of the Westwood Neighborhood Council Transition Committee, the results are not official as of press time, as they have not yet been certified by the City Clerk.

The WWNC was designed to represent the many diverse points of view found in the Westwood area. A number of seats on the council are designated for people in particular positions in the community. For example, a specific number of seats are reserved for renters, while another group of seats are set aside for homeowners. Other groups to be represented with at least one seat are: local business owners, UCLA students and UCLA faculty/staff.

The Neighborhood Council is not to be confused with the Westwood Community Council (WCC). The WCC is an independent, non-profit organization that does not receive government funding and has no official government affiliation. Unlike the WCC, the Westwood Neighborhood Council is funded by money from the city, and it will serve as a board of advisors to the official city government for issues that pertain to Westwood and its residents.

Since February 2, a Transition Committee appointed by L.A.’s Board of Neighborhood Commissioners has been in place to carry out the election of the first Westwood Neighborhood Council. Of all neighborhood council elections in the L.A. area, Westwood had the highest voter turnout, with a total of 1,745 people either showing up at the polls or voting by mail, according to a report from the Office of the City Clerk. There were a total of 63 candidates vying for just 19 seats on the council. The highest number of votes received by a single candidate was 1,097, going to Lisa D. Chapman, who is expected to represent university faculty on the council.

Concerned citizens who wish to give feedback on the election may do so at a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, at the Felicia Mahood Senior Center at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd.

In compliance with a 2001 California law known as “The Brown Act,” all neighborhood council meetings will be open to the public. No announcements have been made about the date or location of the council’s first official meeting as of press time. For more information about the Westwood Neighborhood Council, please visithttp://sites.google.com/site/westwoodncorg/.