Personable alumnus Rich Goodman to run for city council

Leading the salsa club during his time at UCLA taught one former student skills that have come back to help him in his campaign for Los Angeles City Council.

Rich Goodman, 27, who studied economics at UCLA just three years ago, will make his bid to represent the San Fernando Valley, District 6, in the city election on March 8.

Goodman was one of the founding members of UCLA’s Salsa Club after he transferred from Santa Monica College to UCLA. He said leading the club taught him how to engage with people, which he considers one of his greatest strengths.

Monzerrat Ramirez, a fellow UCLA alumna who met Goodman in college, said Goodman would set iPod speakers down anywhere and dance to attract people to the club.

Goodman also organized “rush salsa” events, where club members would dance in random areas of campus for short, 20-minute intervals, said Arturo Medrano, another founder of the club.

“He was trying to find a way to get people to stop, dance and enjoy life for the moment,” said Ramirez, who volunteers to help out Goodman’s campaign.

As a candidate for office, Goodman has taken a similar approach ““ he tries to attract attention by directly interacting with members in his community.

He aims for a more personal approach with voters. The phone number listed on his website is not an office number ““ it’s his cell phone.

Goodman said he recently called a woman to ask her to vote for him.

The woman, who didn’t speak English, said she had never had a political candidate reach out to her before and had never felt involved in the political process. She was astonished to have a candidate call her directly.

The woman was so enthused by his call that she promised to vote for him before even finding out his stance on issues, he said.

Ankur Patel, a UCLA alumnus who met Goodman at the beginning of his campaign, said Goodman also uses technology to establish connections. He writes on IdeaScale.com, a website that allows users to post ideas as entries, which visitors can vote on to show support.

In 2008, Goodman left UCLA without graduating to work on a start-up internet business, Weddingism, because he wanted to be financially self-sufficient.

He joined his neighborhood council to get involved in his community, he said. After attending council meetings, Goodman realized he was not happy with the way the city was being run, so he decided to step up to the plate to lead the city in a new direction.

He will face three other candidates, including incumbent council member Tony Cardenas.

As one of the youngest candidates running for city council, Goodman also hopes to engage his own age demographic. Voter turnout in his district is especially dismal among youth, he said.

Goodman said if elected, he would be the face of younger generations while addressing issues that affect people of all ages.

“The fact that I’m young just shows it doesn’t matter how old you are if you want to be a leader,” he said.