Term Limits Group Announces Leaders

The group that seeks to establish term limits for West Hollywood City Council members named Lauren Meister as its chairwoman Tuesday.

Term limits proponents collected more than 3,000 signatures this year to get Measure C on the March 5 ballot. In November the city council unanimously approved the measure for voter consideration.

"West Hollywood is ready for fresh, new leadership, but City Hall insiders have created an institutional impediment to change," Meister said in a statement. "A 'yes' vote on Measure C will ensure that everyone in our community has an equal opportunity to participate in local government. This will result in new ideas, new energy, a brighter future for West Hollywood."

Meister, a Weho resident for more than 20 years, served on the West Hollywood Planning Commission and is a former city council candidate. She is president of the West Hollywood West Residents Association.

"Lauren Meister is a well-known and well-respected member of the West Hollywood community," said Scott Schmidt, who led the term limits petition drive to qualify the initiative for the municipal ballot. "Her experience leading her local neighborhood association will go a long way as we work to organize our city block by block for change in March."

The term limits camp also announced RSC Partners Inc. will manage the ballot measure campaign. Schmidt, who sits on the city's Transportation Commission, is president of the West Hollywood-based consulting firm.

RSC Partners’ clients have included political campaigns, businesses and trade associations, according to the company's website. In 2008 the consulting firm worked on behalf of a conservative group opposed to Proposition 8, a California ballot measure approved by voters that banned same-sex marriage.

Be sure to follow West Hollywood Patch on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook.