The Tuesday evening armed robbery that occurred just south of Santa Monica Blvd @ Orlando behind La Boheme shook up many in the community. WEHOville received direct information describing the incident, along with video footage. We spoke with one of the employees who described fear in coming to work. We also spoke to one of the owners who was upset at what is happening to West Hollywood. “Come to my restaurant in Texas,” he said, referring to the La Boheme in Houston.
The Chamber of Commerce often acts as the liaison between business owners and the city government. Our monthly and quarterly meetings with city staff always include a Public Safety update. But how can we keep our employees safe with a City Council that does not believe we have a crime problem? WEHOville used to publish the weekly crime statistics, but the Sheriff department stopped issuing those reports, and the Public Safety Commission went along with those changes.
WEHOville posted a video of the incident that quickly went viral. As a member of the California News Publishers Association, our leads were picked up and shared around the globe. The first call hit my phone at 5:06 am from Annie Rose, a KTLA correspondent. “My co-worker Marcus says you’re up early. Can you meet me at 6:45 am?”
The newscasters wanted to reach a member of the City Council. By 8 am, the Mayor had said she had a previous engagement. The news wanted to hear from the Mayor or a city official, but that was not happening. I texted the other four members of the City Council, as well as Joshua Schare, the director of Public Information for the City of West Hollywood. Only Council member Meister replied, “Protocol is it is the Mayor’s job to speak for the City in these circumstances.” By 10 am, Mayor Shyne had changed her mind and showed up to meet with the KTLA reporter.
Instead of acknowledging there is a problem and the Council would be addressing the reports at the upcoming city council meeting, the Mayor dismissed the crime. ‘There will always be crime,’ and then she provided false statistics. One resident who witnessed her interview wrote to WEHOville, “You lied to Annie Rose. Good news is that crime is down.”
Two weeks ago, there was an active shooter incident at the Domain. Three weeks ago, the City provided an active shooter training program for business owners. Shyne was absent.
The day progressed with interviews with every news channel, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, but the Mayor was hard to reach and short to answer many of those reporters who wanted to speak to the person who is supposed to represent the City. One reporter texted, “the Mayor is useless.”
Another reporter asked, “Can you help me get in touch with Sarah Shyne? – lol, it’s Sepi. But you can call her directly. We tried,” the reporter said. “Not available.”
It was toward the end of the day and the last reporter, Lauren Pozen of CBS News, was on the way to City Hall. Lauren suggested City Hall, hoping to meet the Mayor. When I arrived and asked if Shyne had shown up yet, the reporter replied that ‘she had a previous engagement.” On the broadcast, Pozen stated, “we reached out to the Mayor for an interview, but her staff said she was unavailable.”
It seemed like Mayor Shyne had failed to lead the community throughout the day. She didn’t provide any reassurance, plans, or empathy. However, an email came from the Mayor of West Hollywood:
“Hey Larry,
‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” and so on, from her campaign mailer.
The tone-deaf Mayor could have pulled her campaign mailer for the day. Did she not realize what the community was feeling? At the very least, she could have changed the message to gun control and the need to ban assault rifles. Instead of engaging on the issues central to her constituents, she engaged on the issues central to herself and her campaign.
On the drive home, a West Hollywood resident sent a text message, “Hey Larry, has Sepi ever refused to meet with you as a constituent? She is refusing to take a meeting with me. Is that legal?”
Shyne is failing to serve the residents of West Hollywood. Shyne’s campaign for Congress is a dereliction of duty and a violation of her oath to ‘take this obligation freely and without reservation.’ The City Council that nominated her should demand that any future Mayor who agrees to serve also agrees not to seek another office during the ceremonial year as our Mayor.
larry, can you file a freedom if information act to counter this:
WEHOville used to publish the weekly crime statistics, but the Sheriff department stopped issuing those reports, and the Public Safety Commission went along with those changes.
Sad to see what happening in the city.
Shyne, Erickson and Byers are responsible for the crumbling foundation of West Hollywood. WEHO is a dangerous overpriced Woke sick joke!
I imagine, when the people who were confronted by the robbers with guns in the alley behind La Boheme, meet up with SS, they aren’t going to be made to feel concern by SS quoting “Crime is down in WeHo” SS also was quoted in saying that “there;ll always be crime, but we will always have the sheriffs following up to investigate” This is not a Pro Active stand for a “so called” mayor to espouse. When did she fall through the ; looking glass and loose her vision? OOPPs,, there never was a vision, on a reflection of her… Read more »
Mayor SS is Poster Child for the bottom of the barrel which is what WeHo has become. Run down, crime ridden, grifters in office, unhappy people. Sad, it could have evolved much higher and become a respectable city open to all. The development has also become a crude version of a directionless, Monopoly land grab. Nothing but a few overly expensive city projects without any coherence.
Heavy sediment at the bottom with SEB.
Run down. Yep. Just look around on the streets. A cheap ghetto.
Once again after serious comments were offered at CC last night, SEB were mute with SS prattling on about safety in Iran. SEPI, you live here in West Hollywood a city where you function as titular mayor but have nothing to offer. Most of your time is dedicated to personal appearances, appearances for the city and campaign fundraising efforts on behalf of the next position you are seeking. Additionally you run a Reike baloney business from your apartment and theoretically have a functioning law practice. During what hours do you dedicate or focus on for community public safety is the… Read more »
Wow, how on earth did this person become mayor of WeHo in the first place?!? How embarrassing. She sounds delusional if she thinks this omnipresent criminality in WeHo is normal.
How on earth can this Shyne person keep getting away with her dereliction of duty & her abuse of this city & its citizens? I’m now thinking she’s mentally disturbed & out of touch with reality. This situation is beyond ego, it’s insanity! In the meantime, our city suffers. She’s a waste of time, space & money for West Hollywood & should be expelled from the Council & be replaced by a sane person who lives in the real world. Where’s that recall petition anyway? Let’s get on with it!
I was having coffee in WeHo this morning everyone was talking about the Mayor’s attitude and how it was not shocking or new and that this is the same person who blew off the need for reducing funding for the Sheriff’s department. As a mayor … any incident of this magnitude the mayor should be the point person for the Press and Citizens,
Why call her the mayor when she’s “the mayor” in name only, careless & nonfunctional? She had ambitions when she ran for council & she put them in high gear when she became a council member. She’s bad news. But sociopaths don’t care what other people think or are concerned about, even those who gave her the office. I suggest her official designation should be Sepi or Shyne only, never mayor
It was bad enough when Sepi dismissed and patronized me when I asked about the dangers of scooters. But now she’s dismissing and patronizing reporters who are asking her about armed robberies! When is her dismissive patronizing attitude ever going to end? What would it take? A murder? God forbid!
How I wish Lauren Meister was still our mayor. She actually cares about the people of West Hollywood and their safety!
She is the Ayatollah Come Lately. Complete self-serving behavior and diktats for the city based on her opinions, interests and thinking. This sort of dictatorial rule is still very common in numerous countries that are run on stringent agendas; many of which reflect religious beliefs and/or cultural practices. Some reflect the mental instability of the people calling the shots; some reflect a desire to establish dictatorial rule.The list goes on. And I cannot say what I think may be her motives. I can however ask a couple of friends who have degrees in behavioral science and psychiatric medicine and find… Read more »
thank you, Chloe.
I can’t stay quiet. I will be at the meeting tomorrow night to talk about the Mayor’s and the Council’s apparent lack of concern for our safety on so many levels!
ABC NEWS SHOWED THE RISE IN CRIMES BUT THE MAYOR SS said the exact reverse. And how do we stop people with guns. Theses things happen. Oh and I wanna be in congress. Stay home we will be safer
New gun control laws will only disarm (by definition) law abiding citizens. As the state has shown its hand as being pro criminal, the issue is lack of will to enforce existing laws. If the status quo is to encourage crime, the last thing we want to do is remove a citizens constitutional rights to deadly defensive force. We cannot legislate our way out of this issue. We have existing laws that are willfully ignored. To change requires collective will of the electorate, law enforcement, judiciary, and elected politicians at local and state level – we need to choose to… Read more »
She is useless, so are her colleagues Erickson and Byers-she cant be singled out on this issue alone.
Why are you including Councilwoman Byers here?
She has not been serving for six months.
Because she also voted to support the continued cuts.
Because, she too was elected on a pro crime platform and astroturfed into office by outside funded ballot harvesting.
I mean, you know better than most. You’re aware of who these people are, how they got here, and can hear what they openly say publicly