Council race takes shape as Erickson hits campaign trail

Mayor John M. Erickson this week announced the start of his re-election campaign for West Hollywood City Council.

Both Erickson and Councilmember Sepi Shyne, who started their four-year terms in 2020, will have to defend their seats in the coming November general election.

In a post to Facebook, Erickson touted his work increasing tenant protections, building more affordable housing and creating a “a sustainable and environmentally friendly city,” as well as the slew of endorsements he’s received from elected officials from across the region, a list which includes U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, four of the county supervisors and four members of the Public Safety Commission.

Shyne and Vice Mayor Chelsea Byers are on the list, but Councilmembers Lauren Meister and John Heilman are not. 

Erickson began his career as an intern in City Hall before becoming the deputy of former Mayor Abbe Land. He mounted a successful campaign for Council with help from a large network of friends and colleagues tied to local politics, as well as substantial support from the UNITE HERE Local 11 labor union.

Together with Shyne and then-Councilmember Lindsey Horvath, Erickson was a driving force behind several of the city’s most consequential policy changes in the first two years of his term, including higher minimum wages and the reduction of deputies in the Sheriff’s Department.

Public outcry persuaded him and his colleagues to restore the sheriff positions last year, and his support for the continual wage increases and paid time off rules he instituted may be wavering as WeHo’s struggling local businesses have become better organized in lobbying for relief.

Erickson and Public Safety Commissioner George Nickle are the only candidates who have officially entered the City Council race so far.

Shyne hasn’t said whether she’ll seek re-election. She received a mere 234 votes from WeHo residents in her recent race for Congress, a far cry from the record-breaking 8,093 she got in the 2020 Council race. 

At least two candidates from the 2022 race — Sarah Adolphson and Zekiah Wright, who lost by just 13 votes — are rumored to be considering a second run. 

Elections for City Council are held every two years. Two of the five seats will be on the ballot this year, while the other three will be decided in 2026.

All candidates in the race for City Council compete against one another. This year, the two candidates with the most votes win (in 2026, the top three win). 

In 2020, the first year that city elections were held at the same time as a presidential election, newcomers Erickson and Shyne ousted Councilmembers John Duran and John Heilman from the seats they had held for decades.

Two years later, WeHo voters returned Heilman to his seat on City Council. Neither he nor Lauren Meister are eligible to run again when their terms expire in 2026.