Friedman has served on the Disability Advisory Board for almost 6 years, as an at-large appointee and as the direct appointee of former Council member Lindsey Horvath.
Yola Dore, a long term member of the Disability Advisory Board, wrote an email about the problems she was encountering with scooters in the neighborhood, and making it hard for her to navigate the sidewalks. The email was sent to all city council members, top brass at city hall, and selected members of the community. Friedman who serves on the DAB alongside Dore was cc: in the email exchange.
A copy of Dore’s email is below:
Guessing Santa’s sleigh broke down and all his elves are on scooters. They are literally all over our eastside walkways and crosswalks along with the meal delivery robots. When I tried calling the city this morning no one answered the phone. The only person I was able to reach prior to this was our incomparable “Dee,” whose dedication is noteworthy.
Accessible walkways and crosswalks are needed in order for residents to traverse our city. This is a community safety issue especially for persons with disAbilities. We have spoken about this issue countless times yet it seems to fall on deaf ears. As one of approximately 4,900 disAbled WeHo residents I believe it’s time to right this wrong. No more excuses! Sincerely yours, Yola Dore’
Shyne’s replied: “I have heard your concerns and I hear you”, “We have been working with our vendors to make sure that we are efficient in removing them when they are placed on the sidewalks and in the last meeting we had about the program, I gave direction to require all scooter companies that we contract with to utilize sidewalk riding technology that slows down scooter riders if they ride on the sidewalk. I have also heard other constituents that enjoy our scooter program very much. Neither side is wrong here.”
Myra wrote back:
wow! That reply sounded just like Donald Trump after Charlottesville… “There are very good people on both sides!“The people who are telling you they like it, couldn’t care less about us or our problems. They’re not getting hurt. So of course they like it. That’s not the point!But like I told Yola, arguing or continuing to call it to the attention of those in power is an exercise infutility! So let’s just say happy holidays and I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!best,mikie
Friedman’s response got under Shyne’s skin.
Mikie,
I have always treated you with respect and I require the same respect in return. Your email back to me is very disrespectful and that is not something I tolerate in my life from anyone.
Friedman then followed up:
Dear Sepi, I’m sorry if you thought that was disrespectful. I hereby tender my resignation from the Disabilities Advisory Board effective immediately.Good luck in your future endeavors as mayor to make West Hollywood the best city it possibly can be. Best Myra “Mikie” Friedman.
Friedman issued the following statement :
I tendered my resignation from the Disabilities Advisory Board, effective immediately, to Sepi Shyne in an email Thursday. My resignation came about as a reaction to Sepi’s response to a multi-recipient email initiated by Yola Dore. It was addressed to various city officials and activists regarding the continuing problem of scooters cluttering the sidewalk and making it unsafe for people with disabilities; a problem which she said was falling on deaf ears.
I felt that Yola and I were being patronized and misunderstood when Mayor-to-be Sepi Shyne responded with a comment to the effect that there are some constituents who like scooters and some who don’t, and that “no one is wrong.”
I thought she totally missed the point that Yola and I were trying to make. It is not a matter of some people liking scooters and others not liking them! It is a matter of some people using scooters for pleasure, and others having to deal every day with the very real safety problem that abandoned scooters and inconsiderate scooter riders create for us! This is not a “like” vs. “don’t like” issue. This is an Americans With Disabilities Act access issue, and it cannot be ignored, dismissed, or forgotten about!
Feeling frustrated, and not heard, I equated Sepi’s statement, “nobody is wrong here ” with the statement that Donald Trump made about Charlottesville. He said that “there are very good people on both sides.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have said it, but I was angry, and out it came!
Our mayor-to-be told me that I was being disrespectful to her. And that she would not tolerate disrespect from anyone! I guess she didn’t like her words being compared to Donald Trump’s!
So, like a former public safety commission member who also resigned after Sepi thought she was being disrespetful, I too tendered my resignation.
But quite honestly,, I don’t think I was being all that disrespectful. I was making a point. People who have to live every day of their lives struggling with disabilities, cannot be put in a “like” or “don’t like” cubbyhole. We deserve better than patronizing, dismissive answers.
I have fought for disabled WeHoans as a DAB member for five years, and I can fight even harder as a private citizen.
So, if my words and actions may have jolted or upset any of our community leaders, and may have started conversations that will help get rid of the damned scooters that are endangering people, especially seniors and people with disabilities, then that’s a good thing! And I make no apologies to anyone.
Mikie Friedman
[…] Mikie Friedman, a former member of the Disability Advisory Board, summed it up this way. Friedman, who is an amputee and a senior, wrote to the Mayor asking for help. The Mayor’s response was so offensive that Friedman resigned from the Disability Board. […]
I must add this – I grew up in several small towns in New England where the Town “Fathers” met regularly to lead the citizens on the paths of righteousness. And if one did not attend, the whole shebang was detailed by word of mouth or in the weekly paper. These chaps brooked no nonsense. The followed Robert’s to the letter and got things done. Factions existed, but no one was hoping for a part at the Music Tent come summer. The WeHo CC meetings have developed into Amateur Night in WeHo. A few of the regulars do very well… Read more »
One Shyne campaigned. Another won.
Hopefully you will, as a private citizen, speak up at the next City Council Meeting about the perils of scooters in the sidewalks that are dangerous to all residents particularly the disabled. Don’t let Shynes perceived dismissal if you and your concerns deter you.😃👏👏👏👏
The minute she started whining about Trump, that’s when I just stopped reading and she totally lost me. Grow up and get over it.
She? – which one?
You have one arm but your statement of resignation is a knockout punch. Sepi is a bully who does not care about the residents.
Carleton – I applaud your idea but the scooters come from different corrals and I expect with a little research (LOL) those could be determined. But they will be back in a flash and once more dumped as they have been since we first saw them.. The onus of return is on each company. On their schedule I presume. And may I point out that, until Ms. Shyne and her colleague, returned them via fiat to our city, they were gone. She brought them back; perhaps she should be the one to get them gone!
Smart of her to resign before Shyne becomes Mayor and has her removed, deported, or simply executed. Sepi is not amused..
Mikie, you’re 100% correct in your assertions, not only of the arrogance & boorish nature of council member Shyne, but that of the ridiculous street litter & hazards created by the scooters. For starters, I own a scooter & fully enjoy it’s benefits, however, cannot tolerate the morons speeding down sidewalks & leaving them strewn throughout the city walks. (1) No one is ticketed for riding on sidewalks, & should be (2) There are NO docking stations so they can be kept in an organized fashion (3) The companies have no culpability (4) City Council allowed for another hair brain… Read more »
Your reply makes perfect sense. When I first moved to WeHo over 30 years ago I watched the city council’s doings as a new, but not just out of the egg, resident. From the very first session, detailed in some local paper, I commented “The Little Rascals” are having a show. I said it often. Years later, I took part in the effort to ‘save” Plummer Park” (and we of the effort did just that) and I went to the CC meetings ad nauseam. I am sure they dreaded my appearances. When the park was landmarked at last, I stayed… Read more »
Mayor-designate Shyne should not be in politics if her skin is that thin to feel disrespected by the sincerely felt reaction of a disabled city resident to her response. I’m not disabled, yet I was appalled by what Ms. Shyne wrote. (I regret that I voted for her; I feel taken in.)
You are not alone Mr. Switzer.
Ms. Shyne presented herself as an entirely different person prior to election. Not the same character at allz, An imposter!
Indeed she did!
I like the similar conclusions and deductive reasoning and analysis reached by fellow commenters as I did or that I inferred by elected officials refusing to engage the public voters and residents and only speaking on their terms! Those elected individuals who want to keep their lives and their political affiliates and acquaintances private and out of public view all while simultaneously giving out directives vis-a-vis to dictate language used and written by her own political point of view and political agenda and issue it to city hall staff to comply. Reasoning with someone who choses not to speak to… Read more »
More Wehorwelling Ministry of Utter Nonsense-politics, as usual: “All West Hollywood residents, and visitors are equal, but SOME are more equal that others!” I am not disabled, but have come very close to being knocked-down by these God-awful scooters. Time to get the big, personal injury and civil rights attorneys involved. SUE, SUE, SUE! Tie-up the City, and scooter-providers in non-stop litigation, that’s sadly the only recourse they REALLY understand, and respond to! Myra should NOT have stepped-down.
The scooters, my fellow residents , were excluded from our street and sidewalks until CC Shyne and another CC member finagled them back in town. They are, in my opinion in general, a poorly thought out method of transport simply because they are used by people who have no experience with “driving” – and that includes bicycles in many cases. “Drive ’em and drop ’em” can easily be enlarged to describe the ways. of our world at present. Sad isn’t it ? And it raises the question for me, who exactly are these recent CC members representing? Sitting on a… Read more »