The storm still isn’t over!
Several local residents turned out for the West Hollywood City Council meeting on Monday night to castigate Mayor John Duran and Councilmember John D’Amcio for giving the “key to the city” to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“You two were absolutely giddy. You were like 12-year-olds,” lesbian activist Ivy Bottini said to the two gay Council members “Did you have fantasies?”
The City of West Hollywood, in a proclamation by newly installed Mayor Duran, last month declared May 23 as “Stormy Daniels Day.” At a gathering in front of the Chi Chi LaRue erotic apparel store on Santa Monica Boulevard, Duran gave the adult film actress a proclamation signed by all the Council members. D’Amico gave her the key to the city. Daniels, whose real names is Stephanie Clifford, was at the store to promote her t-shirt line.
The ceremony was described as support for an effort by Daniels to bring down President Trump, the highly controversial Republican president. Daniels has said paid Trump paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about their brief affair before the 2016 election.
Bottini said it would have been more appropriate to honor Andrea Constand, who vigorously pursued a rape charge against actor Bill Cosby and won, or Rosie Perez, actor and activist whose recent work has focused on Puerto Rico, where she helps lead a fight for the federal government to pay for hurricane damage there in 2017.
“Do you ever think of the city as a city that you represent for all the people, or is it only LGTB people?” Bottini asked. “I’m LGBT, but there are other people here, there are residents who do not like pornography. Plus, she may be a nice person, but it’s extortion
Cynthia Blatt, who was an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 2017, demanded City Hall take action for what she called a violation of the city’s Code of Conduct for elected and appointed officials.
The code, Blatt said, requires a Council member to get the permission of the rest of the Council when doing something official that will get significant attention. “This was noted nationwide, Blatt said, calling out national television networks such as FOX where the proclamation was reported.
“Given this long history of malfeasance, John Duran has cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements of sexual harassment suits. That violates section 5.1 of the city’s code of conduct. “ Blatt was referring to the city’s decision in 2016 to settle for $500,000 a lawsuit brought by Ian Owens, the City Hall deputy to Duran, who alleged that his boss sexually harassed him. Neither Duran nor the city acknowledged such harassment in settling the lawsuit.
“I ask the city attorney and the city manager per the city’s code of conduct to censure the mayor for his sullying the name of the city.”
Steve Martin, a former council member who is a frequent critic of Duran, said he thanks council members John Heilman, Lauren Meister and Lindsey Horvath “for having the common sense to not show up at this circus event that was truly an embarrassment to the City of West Hollywood.”
The criticism of Duran came during a period when speakers were supposed to address a homelessness initiative on the Council agenda. When Duran warned Bottini that she was off topic by not focusing on the homeless item, they got into an argument that led him to summon a Sheriff’s deputy to move the 92-year-old activist.
However, others, including Amanda Goodwin, another unsuccessful Council candidate, also spoke out against Duran. There was relatively little focus on D’Amico, who was installed as mayor pro tem last month when the mayoral position rotated to Duran.
John Duran and his enablers on the Council are damaged goods, misogynistic homos and ostensibly feminist women who are not standing up to them. Otherwise, Meister and Horvath would have left the dais in protest when Duran sent the sheriff to subdue Bottini. It’s as simple as that. This is not what we have struggled for. Every issue, including affordable housing, gets skewered by this dynamic. Meister tries, but it’s a Sisyphean fool’s errand.
Believe you meant skewed which means biased or unfair. Or did you mean skewered as in punctured which could lead to a deflated issue? Nevertheless there is an obvious lack of respectable and respectful behavior on the part of John Duran, the first sign of someone who has very little self respect and disguises it by acting out. The city manager and city attorney must acknowledge responsibility in maintaining decorum even if the city manager is directed to serve the council. Since the position of Mayor is ceremonial, it behooves the other council members to speak up in a respectful… Read more »
Skewered, not skewed, is what I precisely meant.
While I think the Stormy Daniels key to the City incident was a buffoonish error, the larger problem is the ever ego driven John Duran. He has demonstrated again and again, as in his abhorrent treatment of Ivy Bottini, that he does whatever best serves his personal ego, and he places himself above the city’s best interest. The disgrace of hiring his Grindr date as deputy is hard to top (no pun intended) but he also caused the city to continue with Wells Fargo despite its abusive treatment of customers merely because it supports the gay men’s chorus to which… Read more »
You sound like any Republican throughout the history of WEHO. “Don’t make an embarrassment of our city “ . If it wasn’t for WEHO and our “embarrassments” we wouldn’t be the most progressive cities in the US. You move here deal with it. Stop trying to make us a Beverly Hills …. It will never happen as long as we keep the officials LGBT. I feel no embarrassment, I feel like we are different and we are flipping off the rest of the nation that wants to follow on the footsteps of conservatism..
If it weren’t for gay republicans there wouldn’t be a West Hollywood! We weren’t as savagely divided as some feel entitled to, when someone disagrees with them, now compared to then.
Having studied Behavioral Sciences and Human Sexuality at University of Michigan, I can tell you that all the women (and one man, Steve Martin) who got up and chastised John Duran are frustrated, uptight and need a person to hate. They chose John. No matter what you think of John, that was in the past. Give him a chance to make it better and get off your high horses. The conduct of those people who made comments are not at all progressive and in fact are regressive. I am not riding on anyone’s coat tails. I don’t need to. I… Read more »
There ARE really BIG MONEY ISSUES in WeHo. Not just City Manager salary, but the obscene hundreds of millions of city dollars on tiny WeHo Park/robo garage et Al.
I’ve been on the big money soap box for years. Nobody cares.
They will care after the next election. No one has had the courage to stand up to the city management yet . People won’t even put their real names and pictures here. I’m not afraid to push for major budget cuts including management/Director payroll.
By your analysis, trump’s history with Stormy was in the past, so we should give him a chance to make it better. You just lost my vote. I’m shocked that Hank allowed one poster to psychoanalyze the motives of the speakers at the council meeting. “frustrated, uptight and need a person to hate.” Shame.
From a paragon of Social Behavior and Sexual Proclivities we have been told. It’s wonderful to have such a qualified assessment, high horses notwithstanding. I did not sense that the speakers were mad, rather they appeared matter of fact, informed and quite progressive to request dignified behavior of public officials. Perhaps we are experiencing a parallel universe.
An event by Chi-Chi would be great. But to turn it into a “keys to the city event” have WeHo a bad look as a City & the actual VERY SERIOUS LGBTQetal ISSUES WILL HAVE LESS IMPACT after a “STUNT” P.R. photo of.
SNL was PERFECT for Stormy& got a National Message, as humor, without giving fodder for future attempts the City (may do if they stop over building long enough to) to Act For & Responsibly for EQUALITY ISSUES.
I am a big time Stormy believer and thought it was GREAT that the city gave her a key. What was NOT great? John Duran being associated with it. How much more money is he going to cost us in his current incarnation as mayor? Giving SD the key to the city is totally what a boystown city like ours should do. Just don’t do it with John Duran in the spotlight. Sadly, Stormy’s security staff made an embarrassment of themselves at the Abbey Event later. I think that is the more important takeaway and another source of bad PR… Read more »
Thank you!!
So hilarious. Failed candidates laying into Duran. How pathetic is that. Conservatives that are trying to take over the city of WEHO. Then they say FOX news ( a horrible news network that is themselves fake) into the mix. 95% of WEHO residents despise FOX News so we could give a rats assssss about FOX. We are a very liberal city and so what if they gave the key to a X porn star. That doesn’t define who she is. If anything she went up against a man of great power that doesn’t deserve to be in office because of… Read more »
Au contraire! That is EXACTLY what defines Stormy Daniels. She did not go up against a man of” great power” because she was in some way pressured, overpowered or assaulted. She participated in an expeditious sexual act with a man she claims she had” no attraction for” for unknown benefits. Who does that unless there my be a speculative agenda at some point in time? Any self respecting attractive woman gets plenty of offers but her participation is generally governed by her character. Ms. Daniels had an opportunity which makes her no more than a sexual ambulance chaser. She is… Read more »
Whatever, these conservatives that mostly straight people trying to push the gays out of WEHO, so they can make another rich neighborhood disgusts me. It’s the gentrification of the gays…
For the record, Brad, Ivy Bottini is not a “failed candidate”, nor is Kay MacLaine.
Ivy made good points and certainly has the right to make them. But maybe these points should have been made at an appropriate time in the meeting, and not during a period that was supposed to be used for discussing a homelessness initiative, which seems far more pressing than this silly media party moment for John Duran.
Last Monday on WEHO TV, there was Mayor John “Grindr” Duran demeaning Ivy Bottini, one of the pillars of the GLBT community by having a cop shut her up and drag her off his WEHO platform for pay to play politics as the king of the WEHO Stormy Daniels fan club. WEHO’s mayor is the only Democrat or GOP politician in the USA who hasn’t been thrown out of office for his blatant #metoo inappropriate actions. To repeat the scenario behind this “scandal” – Duran had hooked-up with Ian Owens, an attractive 20 something guy on Grindr, enjoyed a 24-hour… Read more »
So I guess that the public comment period at City Council meetings is really just an opportunity for failed City Council candidates to rage at the folks who actually got elected. I would lose patience too if I had to listen to the same people over and over again. Also, it was complete BS for these people to claim to be speaking on an agenda item as a ruse to get to the front of the line to spew their nonsense. Frauds.
Pete you should really reconsider your thoughts. Cynthia Blatt presented well reasoned, factual information. (BTW she came within a few hundred votes of Duran). Steve Martin’s comments were well advised and Ivy Bottini had a clear and concise point. If you want to give John Duran a pass, please understand he is usurping the quality of life and values of the entire constituency. He was not elected to postulate to his chosen fiefdom in glossed over verbiage that is all about him and not about you and the broad constituency. The broader electorate of LA dismissed him as he made… Read more »
That’s hilarious. Saying that Blatt was close to Duran in the vote tally is ridiculous. He got 25% more votes than she did. Sorry, but that’s a blowout. Look, I am not a fan of any of these people, but the fact is that this was not a big deal and these 3 loudmouths were just looking for an opportunity to attack someone that they already don’t like. We’ve all been witnessing Martin’s grudge against Duran for years and years and, frankly, it’s a little stale.
Ivy Bottini, a true legend, calls out the sophomoric antics of the thin-skinned so-called “mayor” who threatens the 92-year-old with expulsion by an armed deputy. I’m about as disgusted as I’ve ever been. Ivy Bottini has earned the right to speak whenever and wherever and about whatever she damned well pleases.
Due to this debacle, we are a world wide joke. The story was even picked up by the BBC News. And, amazingly, it was covered LIVE by Channel 10 in Phoenix which is a Fox affiliate. It nauseated me to see Duran, let alone hear his inane comments. Worse, was D’Amico’s participation as he repeatedly took pictures on his cell phone, actually gave the Key to this woman and employed a very lame joke to congratulate her. This is a decided low point in our city’s history. What were these new best friends thinking? Oh, wait, they weren’t thinking. Can… Read more »
Council HAD the chance to select someone else, but they did not. Heilman nominated him because no one else would and no one spoke up. Duran became “mayor” be default.
I know. I watched it happen. What truly disturbs me is that Horvath and Meister sat in silence. For shame. And, supposedly, they (and Heilman) signed the official Daniels
proclamation!
Can we recall every one of them and elect people who have principles and common sense?
@Observer – the proclamations are printed with the signatures. The council people do not individually sign each proclamation.
And before you dump on all the council members, did you know that Lauren Meister was the only one that did not endorse Duran’s re-election?
For me, Meister is the only one with principles. The others talk (endlessly) but their action say otherwise.
Perhaps they didn’t “sign” the proclamation by hand, but they haven’t objected to it having been issued in their name either. These two women failed to take a stand on the coronation of the mayor by default, and they have failed to take stand on the media circus to feed to ego of the media hungry defaultee. They lack the moral authority to be part of #metoo, and of the resistance.