Politics & Government

Q&A: West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman

Twenty-five years after he helped the city incorporate, Heilman reflects on how it has changed and the challenges it faces.

John Heilman has served on the City Council since 1984. He's served as a mayor several times during his tenure and is three months into his seventh such term. He's past president of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Local Officials Group and a board member of the ACLU of Southern California. He teaches at Whittier Law School and USC Gould School of Law and is editor of the Southern California Law Review. 

West Hollywood Patch: How has West Hollywood evolved in the past 25 years? How has it changed and what has remained the same?

John Heilman: When we first became a city, there was open doubt about whether the gay majority on the City Council could run a city.

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Of course, that seems silly today with so many openly gay, lesbian and transgender people involved in government.

We have LGBT leaders running major world cities like Berlin and Paris. The sexual orientation of a candidate is becoming a non-issue in many places.

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The rights we fought so hard for at the beginning of cityhood are now taken for granted by many people. We still haven't achieved marriage equality, but we have made a great deal of progress on LGBT rights.

Another big change has been the increased involvement of the Russian-speaking residents. When we first became a city, many had come from places where government was the enemy. Convincing our Russian-speaking residents to call the police was a problem.

[Now] they see the city as a place to get assistance. We have accomplished this in a lot of ways, like holding cultural events.

West Hollywood has also changed the way it looks. We took over Santa Monica Boulevard and gave it a complete face-lift. The first thing we did was take down the ugly telephone poles lining the street.

We added median islands, put in new trees, widened the sidewalks and created opportunities for outdoor dining. We are currently reconstructing Sunset Boulevard, our other main road. We have made improvements to Plummer Park, where we added a comprehensive services center.

We are building a new library. We've had the benefit of a great deal of investment from the private sector. The corner of La Brea and Santa Monica was transformed into a vibrant center with retail and restaurants. Almost all of our hotels have gone through major renovations.

Patch:  What's the economic forecast for West Hollywood?

Heilman: We've been extremely fortunate that we haven't had the same problems as other cities. We just adopted a balanced budget for 2010-2012. We didn't have to lay off any employees and we didn't cut any essential services. In the last two quarters, we have seen our hotels begin to bounce back and some significant recovery in our retail sector.

Some businesses and residents are still suffering from cutbacks and layoffs in various industries, so we need to continue to promote our businesses and our city.

Patch: Aside from the economy, what is the biggest challenge West Hollywood faces today?

Heilman: Public safety is always a concern in every community along with the economy. We also have to deal with the success of the area. Many people want to live or work here. It is always a challenge to balance the competing interests we have in a dense community.

Patch: What makes West Hollywood unique?

Heilman: The residents and business community are extremely engaged. We are well known for being the center of the LGBT community.

We have a great group of seniors. Our Russian-speaking community provides a wealth of culture and history. And we have an amazing business community consisting of the art and design area, cutting-edge fashion boutiques, the rock and roll history of the Sunset Strip and the center of LGBT nightlife. What more could you ask for?

Patch:  Can you share something surprising about yourself?

Heilman: I run marathons. I don't have the typical build of a marathoner, but I've run more than 10 marathons for AIDS Project Los Angeles to support its work in Southern California.


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