Keely Field, a former Chair of the Women’s Advisory Board and direct appointee of Mayor Shyne, made a public comment during Monday night’s city council meeting. Field addressed the retaliation of Shyne in which she was removed from the WAB after an interview about the origin of the drug test strips by Renee Sotile and MJ Godges that appeared in WEHOville.
After the article appeared in WEHOville, Field received a barrage of calls and messages from two other Shyne appointees, Shane Ivan Nash and Jackie Steele. Nash serves as Shyne’s appointee to the Transgender Advisory Board, and Steele has served as the direct appointee to the Public Safety Commission.
In her public comments, Field went on the record that she has applied as an at-large appointee for the Women’s Advisory Board after being removed by Shyne. She then went on to discuss again how the test strips came to fruition and her mission to prevent drug and sexual assaults in the city. “I know that an article that was written by Renee Sotile, who I happen to love, has reached women and men as far away as New York City. This is the power of getting the message out about these ‘test my drinks’ cards. Assault and druggings are happening in the city every day, and my goal is to prevent them. Whether I’m on a board or commission really won’t stop me,” the last line referring to Shyne’s retaliation and removal of Field from the Women’s Advisory Board. Copies of texts from Shyne and Field below.
This publication submitted a number of public records requests for copies of the emails and text messages between Sepi Shyne and Keely Field. In addition, public records requests were submitted for further communications between Public Safety Commissioner Jackie Steele and Transgender Advisory Board member Shane Ivan Nash. Both Steele and Nash were said to have been overwhelming Field with a barrage of threats and emails.
At the end of night, Shane Ivan Nash called to make the last public comment of the evening. Nash is also a sexual assault survivor who had accused Field of taking all the credit in her interview with Sotile. Nash spoke, “As a survivor of sexual assault and far too often having trauma of my personal and private life on display for others to debate, while my body still bears the physical damage inflicted by my attacker, add insult to injury my communications were being requested by a local blog owner. It is beyond appalling that someone would request text messages between two rape survivors for their provocative blog.”
Keely Field turned over all the respective communications. Field discussed the content of the messages but would only turn them to proper legal channels. WEHOville made its public record requests accordingly.
The submission request came back with “No Responsive Records.” with regards to both Nash and Steele. It is not clear if Steele or Nash complied with the public records request.
Nevertheless, Mayor Shyne got in the last word, conflating the facts that it was her attacks on Field and sudden removal from the Women’s Advisory Board that caused Field such distress. And that the public records requests were for verbal attacks on Field by both Nash and Steele.
“The toxicity of this blog and continued misinformation and attacks on community members and members of the council. We now have two sexual assault victims. We are a city that is for love, and the majority of our community is for love and safety. And so, per Shane’s request, I’m calling out this blog for its very Trumpian right-wing intentions that have created a space for hate.”
The above communications appear to be violation of Field’s first amendment rights. In addition Shyne’s attempt to deflect her own actions on the others are dishonest attacks on the free press.
I would just like to say that the toxicity of my initiatives is creating real harm for the city and all its residents. I was sure that the residents would believe my false promises and fall for my misrepresentations because I believed I was a clever lawyer. However, I will never be able to take responsibility for my insidious actions.
Can you say “Abuse of Power”? The Ayatollah needs to be censured, demoted or simply recalled. The workings of the city need the attention of all the City Council members acting for the City. Every issue of WeHoville is another episode of the soap opera that is Madam Mayor. When respected members of the bar comment on her transgressions one has to realize it is not just whining and sour grapes. She is absolutely without shame. And that is shameful
She wants to be in Congress? With these shenanigans? What, does she want to be the liberal MTG? She has the bullying and victimhood down pat..
She is what I see when I think of the term “bully pulpit”.
This is all very pathetic. Bullying Keely Field for being interviewed by a respected community activists/journalist who posted the interview on WeHoville, is an attack on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The fact that Shyne does not like the publication does not give her a right to retaliate against committed community activists. Why Shane Nash is upset is unclear but he seems to be an enabler of the bullying Mayor and it was pretty clear his call during Citizens Comments was meant to keep the attacks on Fields in the public eye.. The Mayor is trying to… Read more »
Bravo, Steve. The only thing missing from your commentary is the likelihood that the called-in commentary and the overdramatic response were a coordinated effort. There is zero doubt in my mind that Shyne knew it was coming.
I thought that was a given.
Yes, entirely plausible coming from the deceptive and treacherous actions of Shyne.
If Nuri Martinez can get the boot from LA City Council, how is that different from Shyne? Similarly egregious behavior.
She is unbelievable, shes the biggest Trumpian there is. And Larry offered to engage in discussion and move forward, but she refused. Wonder how she believes the garbage that comes out of her mouth.
SS seems to have little control over what she says. The fact that she makes statements in public, from the dais, shows she has very little discretion and self discipline. Her sanctimonious remarks appear to be what she employs to disguise of self hatred.
Shyne is apparently quite comfortable disguising cowardly behavior behind sanctimonious rhetoric. Lacking in character, lacking in ethics. A sad public display.
You gotta love how Sepi’s Trumpian playbook is to call others “Trumpian”, who are simply pointing out the provable facts of her awful thin-skinned personality. Sepi is a hate-filled cancer on this City. Maybe her beloved emcee Commissioner Richard “I got into the Domain public housing and you didn’t” Maggio, can do some P.R. damage control for her.
Maggio should be removed from low-income housing. Whoever in the city gov’t has the authority to give him the boot, should How on earth is this kind of corruption allowed to stand? This must not be allowed to pass by & be forgotten. They are cheating the system & the residents of this city AND those who are actually qualified for affordable housing units.
What’s worse than an entitled Rent Commissioner snagging a coveted low-income apartment, when it’s questionable if he qualified and if he possibly jumped the line, are the city officials who aided this, who knew about it, who assisted in their silence. Two long time Council members are still there, Heilman and Meister. Why the silence? Why do I get the feeling John D’amico knows the most about this story?
Trying to stay on topic, let me just repeat Sepi is a horrible human being. Actually, the worst kind. A ruthless cancer, masquerading as some kind of compassionate person.
Sepi is a full blown psychopath;
• Ignored, humiliated and physically RAN AWAY from my freedom group at a public event as if we were diseased pariahs.
• Still refuses to address me by name in public, instead calling me “the commenter” etc., further dehumanizing me during a time of stigma against the unvaccinated.
• Exploited her office to demand I was removed from a harm reduction coalition that I co-founded because I criticized her policies in Wehoville.
West, don’t agree on a lot of things but I have never doubted your sincerity or your courage. In a City that prides it self on “diversity” we need to recognize that real progressives believe in diversity of ideas and the have faith in the market place of ideas. We don’t need to be force fed the ideology of this clique of “progressive” thought police.
Thanks Steve, not to make it about me but it shows the pattern. I expect controversy with my work, but Sepi has bullied some gentle hearted people with pure intentions and it’s unjustifiable!
The psychopathic gaslighting. Sepi and her flying monkeys ARE the abusers.
This recall can’t come fast enough!
Only in Iran would this type of behavior by an elected official be tolerated. Her punishment of the appointee is clear and her attacks on the press are right out of Trumps playbook.