Highlights from public comment during the Monday, September 17, City Council meeting.
Bike to work?
“If I go to the local hardware store to buy a ladder, I’m not taking my bike. If I go to the grocery store, I cannot do big shopping on my bike. I’m a real estate agent — I’m not going to take a client out on a bike, no less buy a tandem one. Especially when I show property from here to the beach, I’m not going to restaurants all dressed up on a bike.”
— Rory B
High hopes, low expectations
“Anyone who thinks that disrupting traffic on Fountain will cause more people to miraculously give up their cars and ride bicycles, taking cars off the road, or take public transportation across the several hundred square miles of suburban sprawl of Los Angeles may have been spending too much time in our numerous cannabis cafes.”
— Laura Batti
Dead end
“Many people didn’t come tonight because they said it wouldn’t matter anyway, that there’s already three votes for this project, so why bother coming. And to me, that’s the real problem—the fact that people don’t feel heard, the fact that the voice of the many is ignored for the opinions of the few. That’s anti-democratic, and that’s not who we are as the city of West Hollywood.”
— Zekiah Wright
Crush the NIMBYs
“We must not let a small but loud group of antisocial residents block the path toward becoming a city that’s well-equipped for the challenges of the future.””
— Jordan Beard
Roots of revolution
“For some, change can be scary — alternatives to current forms of life can feel distant. However, plant-based is not something only of the future; it is in our roots. Our ancestors safeguarded the knowledge, seeds, and plants that sustained ancient civilizations. Time is cyclical. Our future will change, and it is in your hands to make sure it changes for the better.”
— Erica, an “independent climate advocate”
Urgent business
“On the topic of preparedness, the city is offering CERT training with County Fire Department in a couple of weeks. The thing is, though, it was announced about five weeks before the class, and it was fully subscribed after about three days, over a month ahead of time. People who want to take this class and become trained are not able to in this community. I think the city can do much better. If there’s a problem with resources with the County Fire Department, find other trainers. But the city can do better.”
— Kevin Burton
Unshare please
“I need to announce that there was an unauthorized post on the Eastside social media account endorsing Mayor Erickson and Danny Hang. That endorsement was posted by Catherine Eng, who I believe is the Mayor’s appointee to the Business License Commission. I was not aware that this endorsement was posted on our social media — it was not authorized by our board. We don’t endorse politically. I don’t believe it’s allowed, and certainly not a good look. We are trying to focus on neighborhood issues, not personalities. While I understand that hijacking our social media and putting up a false post probably doesn’t amount to a felony, it certainly violates the city’s code of ethics and code of conduct for a commissioner. I would ask that the city look into that. Our membership deserves better, and the integrity of our organization deserves better.”
— Steve Martin
Quote of the week
“Your city wants me dead.”
— Annie Jump Vicente
[…] Story continues […]
Annie jump needs mental health services. Catherine Eng, John Erickson‘s lapdog, is unethical. And reducing Fountain to one lane in each direction is only going to be a big huge waste of our money.
“The voice of many is being ignored for the opinions of the few”… the city council is elected by the people. They literally speak for the people that voted for them. John Erickson – 2020 7,349 votes Sepi Shyne – 2020 8,039 votes Chelsea Byers – 2022 3,960 votes Lauren Meister – 2022 6,070 votes John Hellman – 2022 3,917 votes The votes for the grant each received an average of almost 1500 more voters than the votes against. Don’t forget as well in LA city just a few months ago measure HLA passed with 65% of the vote. People… Read more »
We made a mistake. A BIG mistake. (ps. even though elected, they are supposed to do the bidding of the people but all they do is follow their own aggressive, extremist political agenda). The speaker was spot on.
Unfortunately 60% of those voters had no idea what they were voting for. Going from March elections to November was a mistake.
Sure was. When people voted in March, they were informed and cared enough to get out there and vote in a small city election. Now with the general election, people are there already voting for national positions, they cast their vote for the local city election not knowing who they are really voting for (where candidates stand on local issues). They vote for the most recognizable name or face. It’s really screwed this city up and only benefited the union (Unite Here Local 11) – they now control our council. Best thing you can do is talk to your neighbors,… Read more »
Well it is not like any of them ran on a platform of reducing Fountain to one lane or defunding the police; but that is what happened. The only way to bring some sanity back to WeHo is to vote against anyone endorsed by Unite Here.
Yes, let’s reduce electoral participation and disenfranchise voters! It‘s always better when fewer people vote.
Great demonstration here that you don’t have to be a republican to be a weirdo.
Thank you for this comment. A lot of people on here think that a small group of people complaining at a meeting is democracy, not tyranny of the minority. There’s clearly a mandate for more bike and alt transit projects from HLA to the current weho city council. The selection of residents that show up to these meetings is not representative of West Hollywood.
Add one more: “Whose assinine idea was it to make Fountain even more of a traffic nightmare than it already is?”
Not a good day for Catherine Eng.
She’s had many of those days.
She is very arrogant and self-entitled…much like Erickson!
What about the neighborhood group guy who wrote the unauthorized bike lane support letter and admitted he didn’t really know anything about the project???
Bad day for him, too!
I’m so glad you included a quote from Annie Jump Vicente. We need vocal people who don’t just casually agree with the Marxist Majority. Not that Lauren Meister and John Heilman are always reasonable either. Some people may not like Annie Jump’s tone and use of foul language, much in the way some didn’t like the tone of the late and very great Jeanne Dobrin. But Annie Jump usually has very valid points and concerns, usually backed up with facts. Plus she is very entertaining, and I suspect most don’t have the courage to admit it, but most of us… Read more »
Annie entertainingly (albeit crudely) engages in the very type of disruptive behavior advocated by Chelsea Byers through her Beautiful Trouble organization. Byers seems to want anarchy. Let’s deliver it to her in council chambers.
If that’s true, how sad. When Annie speaks I feel sadness. People who live with mental illness experience pain everyday, and unless they get help, it never goes away. My hope for Annie is that she finds help and is able to live as close to a happy life as possible.