Lindsey Horvath was disappointed in the election that gave her a seat on the West Hollywood City Council.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated new West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath after he administered the oath of office last week. (photo by Jon Viscott)

Although she was thrilled to win, the voter turnout was dismal, and while knocking on doors she had met numerous residents who were disappointed in their city government.

“My sense is that city hall comes with the best intentions, and sometimes because of a lack of transparency, it feels like there might be ulterior motives or things going on that people in the community don’t know about,” she said. “But what is really happening is a lack of transparency.”

Horvath said she hopes to use her platform as mayor to shed light on city hall and its inner workings, and also engage disenfranchised voters who did not go to the polls in March, particularly her own generation. Horvath is 32.

“I want to make it very relatable and accessible,” she said. “I think it will change the way people see that seat. And then maybe it will change the way they see government, and maybe they’ll even want to get involved with it.”

She has spearheaded the creation of a 21st Century Leaders Task Force as a way for West Hollywood city government to engage younger people and cull diverse opinions.

“That [engagement] could change West Hollywood’s future in a significant way,” she added.

Horvath is originally from Ohio, and she said her small-town, Catholic upbringing had a big influence.

“I came from a very small town — you kind of saw everyone you knew at church every Sunday,” she said. “So I think in some way it really helped shape my sense of community and how people were looking out for each other. At the end of the day, that’s what I love most about West Hollywood. People generally care about each other here as people first.”

Her family moved to Las Vegas when she was 15, and then she went to the University of Notre Dame as a political science and gender studies double major.

“I think it’s always been in my heart to be of service,” Horvath said. “I was born and raised Catholic and I’d like to think I got the good parts of the church.”

Horvath said her passion for advocacy really took off during her time at Notre Dame, specifically with her involvement with a campus production of “The Vagina Monologues”.

“It really kind of set my activism afire,” Horvath said. “It really helped me learn how to challenge systems and have appropriate conversations about things that were really important.”

Shortly after graduating, Horvath moved to Southern California. Although she has dabbled in several different fields — including working for John Kerry’s grassroots presidential campaign — Horvath has primarily worked in creative advertising.

In 2004, it was “The Vagina Monologues” that connected her to West Hollywood — that year West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land was involved in the production.

“I had come from a place where I was almost kicked out of school for doing ‘The Vagina Monologues’, and now I had moved to a place where the actual mayor was going to be doing it,” Horvath said.

Horvath became a member of the West Hollywood Women’s Advisory Board. Her local profile and resumé became impressive enough that she was appointed to the West Hollywood City Council in 2009 after the death of Councilman Sal Guarriello, but she failed to win election in 2011.

“I understood that people were upset about not having the ability to vote for the person who served in that seat,” she said. “When I didn’t win my election, it was a really tough experience and I learned a lot from it. But it didn’t discourage me from wanting to be of service and I continued to care about my community and wanted to be involved.”

She joined the city’s transportation commission.

“[It] seemed like the best place to do the most work in the city,” she said. “For the people who didn’t know me well or feel comfortable voting for me, it wasn’t because they hated me, it was because they didn’t know me.”

In the March election, Horvath received the third most votes (2,133), just three votes behind Mayor Pro Tempore Lauren Meister. Councilman John D’Amico received the most votes, and the election saw the defeat of John Heilman, who had served on the council since the city’s inception.

“I do think it means people are open to change, and they will see that with the council we have,” Horvath said. “But they also voted for something that was a little familiar.”

The council, along with Horvath, has been working to regain the public’s trust.

“I think the past few election cycles have created some divisions in the community that aren’t healthy,” Horvath said. “I think disagreement is healthy and sharing different points of view is healthy, but I’m not sure the ways that’s been done are entirely healthy. I am excited to work with my colleagues to build a community and bring people together.”

D’Amico and Horvath introduced a motion to create an ethics task force to address some of those public concerns.

“It felt like it is an effort that was long overdue,” she said. “When you do it right, people trust their government more. And when they trust their government more, they might get more involved.”

Horvath said she plans to push alternative modes of transportation during her tenure, and she has already begun talking with county officials about how the Metro subway system can stretch to West Hollywood someday. She said it is also important to build relationships with neighboring cities such as Beverly Hills and Century City to help work on transportation issues and strategize how those cities can work together to move traffic. She also plans to support a bicycle share program, new pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and other innovative programs like the Pick-Up shuttle.

To deal with parking, Horvath added that the city should examine incentivizing private businesses to open public parking spaces during off-hours, and other creative re-use ideas.

Horvath said it is important to steer West Hollywood in the direction of sustainability, both environmentally and in regards to allowing residents “to age in place.”

“As people continue to get older, how are we supporting them?” Horvath said. “What kind of support do they need and where can they go?”

In regards to development, Horvath said she would continue to push for affordable housing, but acknowledged the need for balance.

“People don’t want to feel as though every area of the city at all times is under development, but we do need to find places where we can create viable options for people to affordably live in our city, otherwise we will lose the people who make this city great,” she said, adding that part of accomplishing that goal is creating easier access to alternative modes of transportation.

Horvath said West Hollywood is an exciting city because it is small enough for creative ideas to take hold, and she plans on the city making news.

“There is a lot that can be done because we are such a small city,” Horvath said, added that she would be reaching out to residents with a special Sunday neighborhood walk program. “I don’t want the points of engagement [with city government] to be only every four years.”