Candidates John Erickson, left, John Heilman, Noemi Torres and Sepi Shyne participated in the virtual forum. (photo courtesy of the Stonewall Democratic Club)

On Sunday, Aug. 9, the Stonewall Democratic Club hosted four candidates at a West Hollywood City Council forum which gave them an opportunity to obtain the organization’s endorsement.

The four participants included incumbent Mayor Pro Tempore John Heilman, a law professor who has served the council for 36 years; John Erickson, a West Hollywood planning commissioner, chair of Stonewall’s legislative action group and director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles; Noemi Torres, a real estate agent who is also a West Hollywood public facilities commissioner; and Sepi Shyne, a lawyer and city business license commissioner.

The forum began at 2 p.m. via  Zoom and it was available for public viewing on YouTube. After the discussion, Stonewall members voted to offer the club’s endorsement to Erickson.

“I am truly honored to be endorsed by the nation’s first LGBTQ+ Democratic club. I’ve been a member with the club for many years. I discovered my drive and passion with them, and I hope to inspire more LGBTQ+ leadership,” Erickson said.

City Council seats currently held by Heilman and incumbent Councilman John Duran will be open in the Nov. 3 general election.

Alex Mohajer, public relations and media relations chair for the Stonewall Democratic Club, moderated the discussion. Candidates were offered an opportunity to address the club with an opening and closing statement. Questions posed by community and club members were not disclosed to any of the candidates in advance.

Mohajer asked the candidates about West Hollywood’s current response to COVID-19 and what still needs to be done for the city’s recovery.

“…We know that small businesses are hurting and closing because they don’t have the necessary money to move forward,” Torres said. “It’s going to be a tough battle. I think we are going to have to reassess month by month as to when we are going to reopen.”

Torres also mentioned the importance of communication and how vital it will be as the city continues to slowly reopen. The other candidates agreed.

Erickson said more people should be involved in the reopening process and the city should consider creating a coalition of workers, renters and businesses owners to work with the city.

Mohajer asked candidates what changes they would advocate for as council members regarding California housing laws, specifically the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict residential tenants once property owners decide “to go out of the rental business,” and the Costa-Hawkins Act, which places limits on municipal rent control ordinances. All four participants said they would work to repeal them. Heilman noted that repealing the Ellis Act and Costa-Hawkins Act will be difficult because the real estate industry has a strong influence on the state Legislature.

“We’ve tried to get repeals before and we’ve not been successful,” Heilman said. “I think what we are looking at now, and what we have been looking at, is making incremental changes. We are trying to ameliorate the harshness of both those laws.”

Mohajer then shifted the conversation to how candidates would make West Hollywood a more inclusive city for Black women, brown women, transgender individuals and others.

“West Hollywood has done some great work, but as the other [candidates] have said, it has been very cis-gendered, male focused,” Shyne said. “It’s reflected in the elected body. There has only been one queer women elected since the incorporation of the city in the ‘80s.

“The focus in the delineation of Boystown and even recognizing GoGo Appreciation Day are all incredibly male focused and [that] needs to shift. I believe that we have to be more open to women and trans women, and make sure that they feel safe, especially our Black trans women in the city,” Shyne added.

The candidates also addressed the issue of substance abuse in the LGBTQ+ community, rental assistance and progressive taxes.

Although the forum was an opportunity for the public and members of the Stonewall Democratic Club to hear from participants, the club also drew heavy criticism from candidates who did not participate.

Duran said he was told he couldn’t participate because he failed to meet the deadline to register for the forum. Candidates Larry Block and Marco Colantonio said they were told the same thing. 

Jane Wishon, political vice president of Stonewall, said the club’s endorsement process had been publicized for the last year, and the necessary requirements are listed in the club’s bylaws, which can be found on its website.

“I understand that there are some who are disappointed, but only candidates who timely requested an endorsement were included in the forum because it was a special meeting of the club for the sole purpose of endorsement,” Wishon wrote in an email.

She added other candidates who are running for West Hollywood City Council either did not request the club’s endorsement at all, or in two cases, they did not complete the required applications by the deadline to be included in the forum.

 The Stonewall Democratic Club makes endorsements in hundreds of races and does not reach out to individual candidates to ask that they request an endorsement, Wishon wrote in an email.

Duran, a lawyer in private practice since 1987, was elected to the City Council in 2001. He said although he would have liked to participate in the forum, his record as an HIV/AIDS attorney in the 1980s and rich history advocating for LGBTQ+ rights is more important.

“I think the Stonewall Democratic Club has process problems,” he said. “Over the years, the Stonewall Democratic Club has lost validity. The whole purpose of the process was to educate candidates and elected officials on LGBTQ issues.”

Block, chairman of the Public Facilities Commission and owner of the Block Party WeHo retail store on Santa Monica Boulevard, has been a member of the club for many years, and said that Stonewall has “lost its promise.”

“Instead of reaching out to people, it’s pushing people away,” Block said. “It was really a bully tactic that they didn’t want to embrace the other candidates.”

Colantonio, a real estate agent, former Disability Advisory Board member and founder of WeHo Times, said the club could have offered all candidates the chance to write in 100 words about their platform, and it would have made a difference.

Seven candidates are currently running in the West Hollywood election including an additional four who were confirmed on Aug. 10 – Christopher McDonald, Tom Demille, Jerome Cleary and Mark Farhad Yusupov – who are now actively campaigning and participating in forums prior to the election on Nov. 3.

“This election is about the future of our great city,” Shyne said during a closing statement at the forum. “We need new leaders who will prioritize our residents, small business and bring back the people’s voices to City Hall.”