One of West Hollywood’s more prominent neighborhood leaders has launched a petition on Change.org asking that Mayor John Duran resign from the City Council. It is the latest in a number of efforts to convince him to step down in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct by him and his response to those allegations.
The petition – headlined “John Duran – Please Resign from WeHo City Council!” — was posted today by Elyse Eisenberg, chair of the WeHo Heights Neighborhood Association. Change.org is a website often used by activists on a variety of issues to collect signatures to show support for the changes they are seeking.
“We believe the time has come for you to acknowledge that the line between your private life and your public one has been crossed and is beyond redemption,” the post on Change.org reads. “Your behavior has become a distraction and national gossip fodder, and your continued presence as a Councilmember in the age of #MeToo is an ongoing embarrassment and a poor reflection on the world-renowned, progressive City of West Hollywood.
“Your behavior and constant references to your unabashed sexual promiscuity is 1) TMI and 2) in this day and age – if it ever was, represents Conduct Unbecoming a Public Official representing ANY community, LGBTQ or otherwise.
“West Hollywood is, and always will be, a safe haven for the LGBTQ community. Their elected representatives, whether members of that community or not, should treat ALL their constituents with respect at all times – in their private life as well as their public one, whether members of the LGBTQ community or not. There is not a different standard for a member of the LGBTQ community – and there never was.
“Mayor Duran, you have not met those standards in many years and you openly acknowledge that.
“While your many years of service to the City of West Hollywood, and your many accomplishments with LGBT equality, HIV/AIDS and other issues are and will remain important, don’t let your blind ego tarnish the rest of your legacy.
“It is time to step down and let us all move on.”
Duran, a 59-year old gay man, has denied allegations by three young members of the Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles, whose board he has chaired for years, that he engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with them. Those allegations were published initially by WEHOville and the Los Angeles Times and since then have been reported by media across the nation.
In response to the allegations, Duran has described himself as a highly sexual person. In an interview on Friday with KNX 10.70 NewsRadio he said that the fact that he is the focus of the GMCLA allegations and others that have come to light is because he is “the only, I think, sexually active member of the City Council. I don’t want to besmirch my colleagues, but I mean, I don’t think any of them are having the level of activity I am.”
Groups ranging from the Stonewall Democratic Club, which advocates for LGBT interests in the Democratic Party, and API Equality-LA, an Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ community organization, have demanded that Duran resign. West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath also has asked that he resign. Her fellow Council members have only gone so far as to say he should step down from his honorary position as mayor, which expires in May. The Los Angeles Times published an editorial last week saying he should resign.
Others who have called for his resignation include the Los Angeles chapter of the #MeToo movement, an organization initially created to fight sexual abuse of women by men of power, and Justice4Gemmel, a group advocating for a tougher investigation into the death of Gemmel Moore and another black man in the Laurel Avenue apartment of Ed Buck.. Buck, 64, is a white Democratic Party donor who allegedly hires young black sex workers. He has been a major donor to Duran’s various election campaigns.
To date Duran has said he will not resign as mayor or leave the City Council. However he did abruptly resign last week as chair of GMCLA and said he would step down from the board of directors at the end of its season this summer.
There is NO agenda to dismantle gay WeHo. Where is the proof? What are your facts or are you just another blowhard that says whatever dialog self serves . Those of us that are ashamed by Duran’s ramped up antics love this city as much as he does , you do ,and you have no position to question that . What we don’t want , is to be an international joke! We don’t want the precedent set that our city council members can do as they please and claim that they aren’t on the city clock . If we elect… Read more »
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We welcome you and the people in the cubicles next to you posting comments all over the internet to seriously consider VISITING West Hollywood and, see how life outside of small town middle America really is like! 🙂
D’Amico and Horvath aren’t getting my vote. Anyone associated with this revolting John Duran should be removed from office. He’s a blight on decency and one of the most unsavory persons I’ve encountered.
My cousin was here from London this weekend for the Oscars and he’d read about Duran in UK media last week. He jokingly asked who’s he blackmailing to stay in power? Unfortunately, I said it’s probably true and not a joke.
That is ridiculous. Horvath and D’Amico both told him to resign! They said it right away. And called him an embarrassment at the last council meeting. That’s how they earned my vote. Meister too.
He needs to resign.
They both made him Mayor through not voting “No”
Among the many unsavory things John has done, he himself has thrown people under the bus to get his buddy on the council. which included a misogynistic smear campaign against Lindsey. Now both that buddy and Lindsey have turned on him. John is merely reaping what he has shown all these years. Karma baby, karma.
How do the voters instigate a recall?
If you would of bothered to Visit West Hollywood before posting you would know that we are full of Attorneys and residents with Political Science Degrees that know the Procedure for Recalling State and Local Officials. When out of State Astroturf Organizations (Astroturf referring to a group falsely giving the impression of being a grassroots-based citizen group or coalition that is actually conceived, created and/or funded by corporations, industrial associations, political interests or public relations firms.) attempt to “Circulate the Recall Petition” where the recall petition can be circulated by “ANY person 18 years of age or older” (Elections Code… Read more »
What can I say but this petition is right on up there with the petition “supposedly” coming from Alaskans begging Vladimir Putin let them join Russia. The petition entitled Alaska back to Russia that already had more than 68,000 signatures in the first few months of 2014 and, claimed to have the support of the overwhelming majority of Alaskans completely sick of micromanagement from the United States. It’s now 2019 and Alaska has elected no one supporting secession from the United States and, it’s looking more and more like the work of Russian internet trolls. Now we are to believe… Read more »
Yes, let’s get rid of John Duran. Let’s end this endless and pathic charade.
The John Duran groupies have enabled Duran to grandstand while turning West Hollywood into a totally worldwide pathetic joke,
If Duran is planning to attend the next council meeting, let’s demonstrate and make what happened last Tuesday look like child’s play.
Duran and his supporters are waving at a gay parade that long passed them by.
Don’t do it John. They have an agenda to get your seat on City Council open so they can try to put a friend in there. If they did not, they would simply vote you out in 2020. If they really care about West Hollywood they would focus on important issues like public safety. They want to slowly dismantle the Gay Community in West Hollywood. You have done much more good for the City than a couple unproven allegations for political reasons.Why are they not asking for the resignation of the other Council Members who did nothing about the Ed… Read more »
Apparently half a million dollars of what was not his own money was a good enough substitute for a jury trial. That is not the kind of person who should continue to pretend to be concerned for his constituents.
Isn’t the vote this March 5th?
Duran is not up for re-election until Nov. 2020.
He is not up for re-election this time.
He has been an embarrassment for many years. This is not a one-time thing. The fact that you support him, to me, just makes my opposition to him stronger. There is no agenda to get his seat on the Council open. I felt he should not have been re-elected the last election, but he has strong gay supporters in Boystown. Between the Deputygate debacle, his problem with charging meals on City cards from many years ago, giving the Key to the City to Stormy Daniels, pouring Stoli vodka in the sewer, his constant need for attention is on par with… Read more »