About three weeks ago, I received a text message: “Are you WEHOville Larry?” I replied: “One of my hats.” Todd Schultz introduced himself and asked if I was a West Hollywood resident. Yes I said, and Schultz proceeded.. “I called City Hall to complain about an incident with the Block by Block ambassadors.”
Schultz then spoke with Mayor Shyne. “You’re reading too much WEHOville. Shyne said, Crime is down,”and other slights towards me. The Mayor had conflated the residents concern with Block by Block security ambassadors and Larry Block. Mr. Schultz then wrote to the City Manager and City Attorney. “Mayor’s should not defame and demean their citizens.” Mayor Shyne said she had PTSD and after I told her of my own trauma she seemed to seize the moment to slam WEHOville as though I was a child asking for guidance when in fact I am a resident addressing concerns for the city that I love almost as much as my partner of 13 years.” Todd Schultz and I have never met.
This past December, my shop, BlockParty WeHo, was offered a proclamation for our work to bring Covid and MonkeyPox vaccines to WeHo. BlockParty had partnered with Essence Pharmacy to deilver over 400 vaccines. The city council came down for the photo and Sepi had both fists clenched. She refused to shake my hand, and barely acknowledged the staff or nurses who had administered the vaccines.
Was I misreading the situation? So I reached out again after the photo, but she didn’t budge. I texted her soon after, “Sepi, fists? Really?” The bully had fists and then put those fists in her pocket.
Keith Kaplan wrote this op-ed, After Keith wrote his story Shyne called the Chamber of Commerce to order Kaplan removed from the Board. “Do you know how much power I have?” she warned Genevieve Morrill, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. Keith filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County Public Integrity Division.
Shyne warned the entire public that she reserves the right to read emails, texts, and your names out loud into the public record if she disagrees with your approach. Her intimidation has earned her a nickname on our message boards as “Ayotollah”. Shyne holds quarterly meetings with her commission and board members with a checklist’tow the line’. Shyne’s appointees are ordered to speak on her issues.
Renee Sotile and her wife, MJ own LGBT Hollywood, a lesbian voice that covers city and national events. The Emmy award winning journalists are regulars on red carpets, and they are well known local residents. This year they were denied equal access to WeHo Pride through an email from JJ-LA at 5pm on Friday, one hour before showtime. Sotile reached out to Council member Meister requesting entry to interview city council kick-off on the red carpet. Meister reached out to city staff and then shortly thereafter a text confirmed Jeff’s denial. “We are unable to offer you red carpet access this year” Shyne serves on the Pride sub-committee that oversees Pride. Renee Sotile and WEHOville editor Brandon Garcia were the only local journalists denied equal access. Credible sources pointed to Shyne.
Keely Field is a rape survivor and worked tirelessly on Shyne’s 2020 campaign. She didn’t get the win bonus and was never paid anything, but did get an appointment to the Women’s Advisory Board. In Field’s second year on the WAB, she was elected Chair. The rape survivor’s mission ‘to roll out the Drink test strips’ got approval by the city council, but Shyne failed to mention her name. Sotile’s first story told the story behind the test strips. Shyne was furious.
Shyne allies bombarded Field with threats. Text messages show the retaliation made at Field. Shyne told Field she would not be re-appointed to the Women’s Advisory Board and she could attend the Domestic Violence Summit ‘as a guest’, thereby stripping a rape victim of their dignity. It is an egregious act of retaliation and victimization.
Over these past two years, the tone and discourse in the city have changed. Gone are common decency and honor.
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.
“There are two Sepis. One Sepi will tell you what you want to hear and will soothe, placate, and patronize you into thinking that she is on your side, and that she ‘hears you.’ While the other Sepi is self-serving and vindictive, and is really only concerned with her political ambition and getting her own way.”
The first person to stand with Gemmel Moore at the city council podium to ask for help to investigate Ed Buck was West Siegmiller. West championed Buck’s crimes two years before Shyne stepped up to question the veracity of the allegations.
Siegmiller writes, “Initially, I saw Sepi as an ally, albeit a fair-weather one, in our fight to get Ed Buck arrested. However, my mistake was thinking that Sepi was genuine in her activism and not just using it as a means to ascend the political ladder.” Regarding the WeHo Safe Coalition, Siegmiller says, “Sepi and her cohorts turned on me and kicked me out of the coalition.” He added, “Her attacks on individuals serve to silence dissenting voices. It is clear that anyone who criticizes Sepi is at risk of losing their reputation, career, and freedom.”
There are also the 5 closest women to Shyne when she was elected. Her wife Ashley, Melehat Rafiei who had the honor of swearing Shyne into office. Alana Roshay and her partner Katrina Vincent. Vincent received Shyne’s direct appointment to the planning Commission and Roshay received Shyne’s direct appointment to the Public Safety Commission. Keely Field was Shyne’s first direct appointment to the Women’s Advisory Board. Two years later all 5 of these women have left Shyne’s inner circle. Melehat Rafiei was convicted of felony charges and pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a city council to pass an ordinance in her favor.”
A fish rots from the head down. There is something wrong in our city.
She was elected, not appointed. People who do not like her have every right and ability to vote her out. Quit bellyaching and do something.
I feel compelled to comment since our names are mentioned here. We have made no assumptions on the reason for being denied red carpet access.
We have a long history of documenting West Hollywood and strive to work together with the City and producers moving forward.
My initial post was medica. My own opinion is “delusions of grandeur”.
This is how the DSM-5 defines this kind of behavior as mentioned in Larry’s piece. Disorder Class: Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct DisordersA. Several discrete episodes of failure to resist aggressive impulses that result in serious assaultive acts or destruction of property.A. Recurrent behavioral outburst representing a failure to control aggressive impulses as manifested by either of the following: Verbal aggression (e.g., temper tantrums, tirades, verbal arguments or fights) or physical aggression toward property, animals, or other individuals, occurring twice weekly, on average, for a period of 3 months. The physical aggression does not result in damage or destruction of property… Read more »
I was not the first person to speak at city council, many people were fighting diligently with Gemmel Moore’s family. Just want to correct the record
More than asking “Is there something wrong with Sepi Shyne” the question is Is there something wrong with the city that accepts the behavior of this slovenly, self interested individual and fails to use any of its tools to curtail her disreputable behavior?
Looks like Sepi would fit right in with Los Angeles City Council.
Oh what fun…all the WeHovillers get to express their misoynistic, anti-semitic feelings about Sepi again. So tiresome — all of you. So tiresome.
Classic response . Play the race and sex card when you can’t argue the facts.
I want to know more about the woman that pled guilty to bribery that swore Shyne into office for trying to bribe a city council member, The Apple doesn’t fall from the tree.
read this about the mayor’s best friend…
https://www.google.com/search?q=melehet%20rafiei
The four individuals on city council may all be intelligent people but none have evidenced smart behavior regarding their colleague. By turning a blind eye or showing a lack of spine concerning Sepi Shyne’s absence of respect for the titular position of Mayor, the city council, as a municipal body demonstrates to the residents of West Hollywood that the practice of ethics is unimportant leaving the residents in a sorry and untenable position. Additionally, failure of the City Manager and City Attorney to rein in this rapidly deteriorating situation will have unknown consequences and will likely reflect on all parties.
Yes rapidly deteriorating. Sepi was invited to a meeting with the city manager and city attorney one week ago but was a no show. I tried to reach out to understand what she said to Todd Schultz. I tried to solve the situation before going public. The equal access denied at pride to Renee Sotile and Brandon. I’m not gonna take her shit anymore. The Sepi Desantis tone to governance is a cancer on our city.
🎯🎯🎯
The access denied is completely unacceptable, you shouldn’t take it, and you have the support to make her accountable for her unethical practices and governance.
Defaming a resident in public at a broadcast city council meeting on an issue that has nothing to do with municipal business is a very bad move that may have serious consequences. Sepi Shyne may be an intelligent person to wit her law degree in practice of copyright law but does not appear to be very smart. Her personal afflictions are becoming the problems of WeHo residents.
Sepi is emblematic of what is wrong with the current generation of “progressives”. She is intellectually incurious, arrogant, grievance driven and self righteous, literally the mirror image of MAGA; both sides becomeing increasingly cult-like, replacing honest political debate with mindless slogans and the politics of division. Her embrace of diversity is a hollow one as it does not include diversity of opinion.
Sadly, her sense of messianic mission as reduced to her a parody and a divisive figure of derision. The voters had hoped for better.
Very good observation. It also encompasses a lack of scope and knowledge of the progression of history and political debate. The “progressives” as they envision themselves, appear to have a. rather myopic point of view and resemble the actions of a tail wagging the dog. This causes the dog to run in circles and the residents to be diminished by exhaustion.
Knowledge of history or actual facts has been replaced by one’s “lived experience” , which is generally to the exclusion of other’s lived experience that may be at odds with your world view.
Steve, the voters should have gotten better. Sepi Shyne is a lying grandstanding b*tch. I had the smallest interaction with her recently. What began as a ‘happy Pride’ on my part (we were passing on the street, never met her personally and I was with friends) her response turned into a belligerent rant with no cognizant rhyme or reason. She needs an asylum not the Mayor’s office.
The details of the incident may be interesting…