The first annual WEHOville BBQ brought current city and county leaders, aspiring political candidates and loyal readers of this news site together to share in our passion and devotion for the city and country we call home. The event was held on the Fourth of July at Publisher Larry Block’s home in WeHo. Tony Rizzo cooked and served dozens of delicious made-to-order hamburgers and hot dogs.
Elected officials and public servants in attendance included:
- State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, running for County Supervisor against outgoing WeHo Councilmember Lindsey Horvath
- WeHo Mayor Lauren Meister, running for re-election this November
- WeHo Councilmember John D’Amico, retiring this year
- Former WeHo Councilmember John Heilman, running for Council again this November
- Former WeHo Councilmember John Duran, running for Council again this November
- Former WeHo Councilmember Steve Martin, running for Council again this November
- Donna Saur, former WeHo Public Safety Commission member and longtime deputy for Councilmember Sal Guarriello
- Pat Dixon, named Senior of the Year
The presidents of three WeHo resident’s associations were present:
- Bobbie Edrick, president of the Norma Triangle Residents Association
- Elyse Eisenberg, Business License Commissioner and president of the WeHo Heights Residents Association
- Manny Rodriguez, vice president of the West Hollywood West Residents Association
And two aspiring WeHo City Councilmembers came to introduce themselves:
- Jordan Cockeram, candidate for WeHo City Council
- Ben Savage, undeclared candidate for WeHo City Council and an actor known from Boy Meets World
All WeHo City Councilmembers and candidates were contacted and invited to attend. Robert Oliver and Marquita Thomas graciously notified us of prior commitments, and Zekiah Wright had a last-minute scheduling issue. Chelsea Byers also notified was unable to attend but did reply shortly after the festivities began.
“WEHOville is proud to offer people with diverse opinions and real concerns for their city a space where they can speak freely,” Larry Block said. “We’re offering candidates a direct line of communication with their constituents, and we’re giving residents more power over the people they elect to run this city.
Apparently ‘the environment’ was not a concern with a BBQ? same with the waste of paper, especially the gigantic oversized postcards at election time. We really need to think about air quality, and is it really necessary to send multiple postcards? THINK about CONSERVATION. When I get large postcards, and many of them, that person’s name goes to the bottom of the list for my vote as they are not thinking about the greater good! Global Warming is very real, even in WeHo! and La La Land.
It looks terrific!
Sorry I had to miss it.
Looks like a nice well intentioned event.
Consider if this had been 5 or 7 years ago Ed Buck would have been attending. Yesterday his two prominent enablers showed up instead. 🙄 As things change, some things never change.
Let’s hear from an ethical potential candidate(s) whose first and only interest is the municipal health and safety of West Hollywood residents and has the expertise to follow through. 🏆
No Ed Buck would not be attending, he was never an elected representative or a friend of mine or even in my cell phone or email database. You had been invited but chose not to attend, no need to attack the guests.
Apologies Larry. Not meant as an attack, merely as a reflection on events, not you Larry. At the time you may not have even known about the darkness lurking.
These videos are a hot mess! Thank you for posting them though! Their ‘speeches’ demonstrate how these disconnected all-white-men are from West Hollywood residents, people who play here, and the shifting dynamics of the gay community in 2022. At least Lauren Meister (who attended) knew better than to get on a soap box! These privileged-old-white-men go on and on about wanting West Hollywood ‘the way it used to be.’ These are the same candidates who take issues with trans folks, the BIPOC community, and anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into their circuit party or saved Grindr profiles. Give me a… Read more »
How do you get through the day with all that miserable hateful cynicism?
To username Say What?!,
It’s called RECEIPTS. Please avoid deflecting their bad behavior just because you have an issue with the FACTS I presented that were reported here and on other media outlets. Gurl, bye!
You make some valid points that are unfortunately drowned out by your rant.
HA!
Excellent comment 🎉 completely beat me to the punch this time and, WOW would I love to see more of this coming from West Hollywood❗👏
Thank you, Cy!
Appreciate your comment and agreed!
Residents need to remind one another of the corrupt politicians who feel a need to rinse and repeat!
I do not have amnesia unlike some other people around town.
Tired old white guys
Racist nut!
Looks like a fun party, glad to see you bringing the community together
While this city has become so divisive there is one person who does his best to give a voice to the voiceless, lift a hand up to the less abled, and against the odds bring all sides together. Larry, I hope you make a decision to run again because this city needs more of you and less of the trolls or the recycled garbage that are now running for the city council.
I agree.
And we wonder why WH is such a mess.
No, “we” don’t.
We do wonder why you like to chime in about this city when you don’t even live here.
He was apparently at Larry Block’s BBQ yesterday, according to one of the videos above. I was beginning to wonder if he’s even a real person.
Not sure where see that, but the ‘commenter’ was not outed.
I misunderstood. His name is mentioned in the second video, but I thought he was referencing a member of your crowd.
I’m sure he loved being mentioned. Probably made his entire day.
D’Amico sold us out. He supported both defunding the sheriffs department and extending alcohol sales until 4am. He ignored what the people wanted and did what HE wanted. He makes me sick. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Ben Savage! No way! I grew up on Boy Meets World- every Friday night!
Big fan.
And that resume’ qualifies him to serve on the WEHO City Council? His acting career has stalled, so now he wants to try politics? No way is right. No way!
All I said was that I’m a big fan of his.
Yes, but he’s hoping you’ll vote for him because you’re a big fan of his show. Unfortunately, he’s completely unqualified for this position.