Angeles City Council from 5th district, defeating former state senator, assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate Tom Hayden by 369 votes. During his tenure on the Los Angeles City Council, Weiss chaired the Public Safety Committee; the Redistricting Committee; the Arts, Health and Humanities Committee; and, the Information Technology and General Services Committee. He also served on the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, and contributed to the unsuccessful bid to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Weiss supported the efforts of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief William Bratton to increase the City's trash collection fees to raise funds to hire new police officers. Weiss was active on issues involving homeland security and the police department. He was a frequent speaker and author on the topic of terrorism preparedness. During his tenure on the Council, Weiss wrote legislation that toughened the city’s gun laws, and he served as the founding chair of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. In 2002, Weiss wrote a ten-point plan called "Preparing Los Angeles for Terrorism." Weiss was also an outspoken supporter of the State of Israel. Weiss won reelection in 2005 with 71.9% of the vote. As a city councilman, Weiss was criticized for accepting campaign contributions from real estate developers and their representatives. In particular, Weiss accepted 78 political contributions from subcontractors for developer Alan Casden. Additionally, a vice president of Casden Properties made contributions to the Weiss campaign that were later deemed to violate city campaign finance law. Weiss not accused of any wrongdoing by the either the city or state. The California Fair Political Practices Commission ruled that there was no evidence that the Weiss was aware of the source or illegal nature of the donations. Campaign for Los Angeles City Attorney In 2007, Weiss announced that he would run for Los Angeles City Attorney seat in 2009, when incumbent Rocky Delgadillo would be forced from office by term limits. That May, a group of residents in his district launched a campaign to try to force a recall election of Weiss, accusing him of being too supportive of large development projects. Weiss said the developments were permitted under the city’s zoning laws and would bring needed jobs, housing, property taxes and other infrastructure improvements to the area. The group never turned in its petitions to the city, but claimed to have gathered 20,000 signatures. Weiss finished first with 36 percent