WeHo Public Information Director Helen Goss Retires; One of City’s First Employees

One of the city of West Hollywood’s earliest employees is saying goodbye.

Helen Goss, the city’s director of public information and prosecution services, is retiring after 28 years. Goss, whose last day was Friday, started her job in August 1985, less than a year after the city was formed.

“Helen is one of the city’s first employees and played a major role in the shaping of the organization and how it communicates to the world,” said City Manager Paul Arevalo. “During her tenure, she led the city and its public information and cable divisions to innumerable awards, accolades and worldwide recognition. She also led various special interdepartmental taskforces and oversaw our prosecution services. Helen has been a friend and a colleague to many of us and we will miss her energy and intellect greatly.”

As public information officer, Goss was responsible for guiding coverage during the many times the city made headlines, including AIDS protests, domestic partner benefits for city employees, banning Saturday Night Special guns, outlawing the declawing of cats, banning the sale of fur and same-sex marriage rallies.

Despite dealing with the media regularly, Goss managed to keep her name out of print most of the time.

While she was the sole person in charge of dealing with the press in 1985, the public information office greatly expanded over the years. Goss was responsible for the city’s public information office, as well as the film office, which oversees policies regarding filming in WeHo, digital media office, which oversees the city’s website, and the cable television division, which oversees WehoTV, WehoTV Channel 6 and Channel 36, a public-access channel on Time Warner Cable.

As the director of prosecution services, she managed all city criminal prosecutions and provided oversight of the city prosecutor, Dapeer, Rosenblit and Litvak. Goss earned a law degree from Whittier Law School.

The city has not named a replacement.