West Hollywood City Councilmember John Duran a moderate? A conservative? Perhaps only, as Duran himself declared, in West Hollywood.
Those participating in the debate, hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), included former Santa Monica Mayor Bobby Shriver, former state legislator Sheila Kuehl and former Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich. A video of the debate can be viewed on the SPJ website. The primary election is June 3.
“I don’t actually consider myself a liberal Democrat, I do consider myself a moderate Democrat,” Duran said. “Only in West Hollywood could somebody who support transgender rights and animal welfare issues, could you be labeled a conservative. That is what I’m called in West Hollywood. I’m called the conservative on the Council, which I guess makes me the moderate because I’ve very pro business.”
“One of Zev greatest legacies, he was the moderate on the supervisors race,” Duran said. “There were two on the left, two on the right, and Zev was the solid center, the solid center in terms of fiscal integrity, fiscal prudence, not giving too much to one side or the other in terms of labor negotiations, holding the center on the Board of supervisors. I do believe whoever takes the seat has to hold that.”
Duran stressed the importance of economic development in his comments, noting the disappearance of manufacturing jobs in Los Angeles County and the changing nature of the workforce, with fewer steady regular jobs.
He cited his position on the West Hollywood City Council in describing the approach he would take. “One of the things I’ve learned over the last 14 years, is when the same 50 people come to yell at me every Monday night, I have to protect the other 37,000 people from these same 50 people because they’re not the voice of the community,” Duran said. “Sometimes it means standing up to some of the neighborhood groups that want to rule the roost but to our economic detriment.”
Duran, who along with Council members Jeffrey Prang and John D’Amico, has opposed efforts to enact campaign reforms in West Hollywood, repeated his frequent assertion that donors to his council campaigns haven’t gotten special favors.
“I know that particularly on the West Hollywood Council where I sit now, both sides contribute to my campaign and somebody always walks away unhappy,” he said.
From this comment..John Putin-ran believes citizens who make time to participate in democratic rule are a detriment to the welfare of all.
This is a dangerous mind set…and dangerous to us all to have a politician that thinks in this manner.
Clearly, he forgets that he is employed by “those” 50 people and if he can’t stand dealing with them he needs to find another line of work.
What a piece of work!
“One of the things I’ve learned over the last 14 years, is when the same 50 people come to yell at me every Monday night, I have to protect the other 37,000 people from these same 50 people because they’re not the voice of the community,” Duran said. “Sometimes it means standing up to some of the neighborhood groups that want to rule the roost but to our economic detriment.” IS THIS REALLY WHAT HE SAID???? Good grief! I watch those meetings on Ch. 10 and I have rarely seen any of those “50” people yell at the council. Most… Read more »
John Duran is just a big sell out ,not to the people of the city but all the money he gets from all the big$ that come from all the developers – and can lie with a straight face ,,and has done nothing of anything of any note for the city, he is as creative as a paper bag ,exept a paper bag is more useful
For what it’s worth, Duran has no chance whatsoever of being elected to the County Board of Supervisors. I won’t bet on exactly were he will place, but it’s a sure thing he will be bringing up the rear. All of his chatter about being a “political moderate” to impress a broader constituency, is neither here nor there, it’s for naught.
when we all are walking in the same direction, no gets lost, right? unless you happen to walk off the cliff. the idea that duran is a conservative is a slur, in the trenches of west hollywood politics. it’s code. john f. kennedy was main stream democrat in 1960, strong on national defense, pro business, cutting cap gains taxes, and came around to acknowledge civil rights as a core principle of the party. he would not be elected in today’s democrat party. not a chance. not quite sure about duran’s chances against a cash flush shriver, who by the way,… Read more »
re Larry Block: Larry Block has all the appearances of trying to stand up for the people of WeHo who don’t seem to being getting their voices heard. Where there is gambling there always seems to be cheating and where there is politics there always seems to be corruption. Larry Block has all the appearances of being a Serpico (honest cop) which might be what certain council members want on the city board…someone who might uncover the games and the string pulling going on behind the scenes. If people in WeHo are smart they should be racing to the polls… Read more »
Just brilliant: “One of the things I’ve learned over the last 14 years, is when the same 50 people come to yell at me every Monday night, I have to protect the other 37,000 people from these same 50 people because they’re not the voice of the community” By his logic all that the residents of WeHo have to do in order to get representation in John Duran’s mind is stay home and shut up. I’d say he is neither a moderate nor a conservative but monarchist who interprets every public comment as a personal affront. Sadly I don’t think… Read more »
Larry, I didn’t have an opinion on your candidacy until your comment. As much as I am not a fan of Duran, as an attorney, he has the professional responsibility to represent the interests of his clients to the best of his ability. And by your same logic, no attorney should ever run for city council if they have a client, which rules out all of them. That’s just insane. Your lack of understanding of the legal system and the public service sector is truly disappointing.
SL, you will never get it! My reluctance with Cooley’s has to do with other issues (which I have explained fully), not with the advancement of any business. I have suggested you go into the archives and reread the discussion, but, frankly, you wouldn’t see anything other than what you think you already know. So you needn’t bother.
John is an attorney who protects and defends innocent as well as guilty people.. He manages to make the guilty look innocent. He is more concerned with protecting his clients than the public or he should run for District Attorney. As far as Cooley’s goes.. he shares an office with the David Cooley’s attorney Mark Lehman. An obvious conflict of interest. John can tell a lie with a straight face as he declared.. ‘I have a disclosure to make, Mark Lehman gave $100 to my campaign’ How bout telling the truth that he is your tenant, or you are his… Read more »
Yep, BlueEyedBoy, he’s pro-business by overruling your past objections to Cooleys.
Pro-business makes me pro-Duran!