Mayor John M. Erickson captured nearly 30 percent of the 31,019 votes cast in this month’s West Hollywood City Council election, according to the final tally.
With more than 8,789 votes, Erickson came in more than 2,100 votes ahead of his running mate, Danny Hang, who received 6,603 votes.
Business owner Larry Block, came in 3rd. Block ran an independently mostly self-funded campaign ending with 4,210 votes. Block finished ahead of both Chamber of Commerce endorsed candidates.
Erickson and Hang comprised a slate backed by UNITE HERE Local 11 and other special interest groups. Together, Hang and Erickson garnered almost half of all votes cast. Their opposing slate — George Nickel and Zekiah Wright, backed by the WeHo Chamber of Commerce and We For The People — received a total of 6,731 votes, or 15.39%. Nickle received 3731 votes and Wright received 3000 votes. Erickson beat both of the Chamber candidates combined.
Over the past few election cycles, UNITE HERE has perfected their get-out-the-vote strategy in West Hollywood. The union was instrumental in getting Erickson and retiring Councilmember Sepi Shyne elected in 2020, and they were a driving force behind Vice Mayor Chelsea Byers’ victory two years later. UNITE HERE supported Councilmember Lauren Meister in the past, though they campaigned against her during her last race for re-election.
The Chamber’s efforts to get favored candidates elected have been less successful. While the organization supported winners Meister and Councilmember John Heilman in 2022, they cast a wide net, endorsing and allocating resources to three other candidates who did not prevail.
Rounding out the field was Stephanie LaHart in 6th place with 1745 votes, followed by Jordan Cockeram with 1506 votes, Rachel Schmeidler 623 votes, Dorian Jackson 449 votes and West Seegmiller 267 votes.
Voter turnout was lower than in 2020, the last municipal election held during a presidential election, when 33,837 residents voted. Erickson improved upon his results by 1,440 votes this year.
So who ALL actually won and what about the dreaded bike lanes?
We need more city council members. 3 people decide WeHo’s direction. We need at least 11 council members. Then it would take a 6 majority council to decide issues. It would also be more difficult for Unite Here to “appoint” 6 people.
Totally agree. Property owners may finally get some representation rather than every single city council member in our history either being owned by an out of town communist union, or just seeing the writing on the wall knowing it’s only the freeloaders who selfishly vote their own interest, bordering on squatters. Voter turnout is shockingly low in weho. I also propose the u.S. Supreme court should have at least 99 members.
Congrats to Danny and John. Smart well run campaigns.
It’s official, UNITE HERE now owns WeHo.
The backlash to woke regressive grifters like Erickson and the other simpering Unite Here patsy got Donald Trump elected to a second term. The Democratic Party that I once knew and supported is long gone.
Exactly. Many mainstream liberals like me are also fed up with the “woke” nonsense like a man likes to wear a dress thinking they have the right to wrestle a 14 year old girl. No wonder they hate us. Thanks John Erickson, we are now a fascist country. And of course I’m fine with anyone who wants to wear a dress, it’s just that it shouldn’t give you extra rights.
There were too many candidates. The votes were divided too many ways. I’m sure there were candidates who knew they would not win but this was an opportunity to have their fifteen minutes of fame and to then go on with some notoriety in the city that will last them the rest of their lives; in at least here in WeHo.
But at what cost?
Lauren Langer, the city’s attorney, states in an agenda item to be considered at city council that there are 26,036 registered voters in West Hollywood per the LA Registrar Recorder/County Clerk’s official report of registration to the Secretary of State. This article states 31,019 votes were cast in West Hollywood. 5,017 votes is a very large difference and that number should be looked at for inaccurate cast votes. The amount is large enough to make a difference whom won the 2 council seats.
I was going to mention the “idiocracy” as a stand-alone comment, but david e makes one of my points eloquently.
I do not understand.
WeHo has about 35,000 residents.
Accounting for children, infants, and non voters, 33,000+/- resident votes is virtually unheard of here. “Votes” are different as there were ten candidates on the ballot.
I look forward to the new term.
Erickson and Hang didn’t win, Unite 11 did. Erickson and Hang are their pawns in the attempt to erase the founding principles on what we were built on, and to promote their inflated egotistical agenda
This is really, really discouraging. The West Hollywood I have known and loved for decades is essentially gone. And for what? Wealth and power for the Unite Here executives, and to inflate the egos of two tiny little men who otherwise would be no one of note.
I attended one of the candidate forums with some friends. Erickson is a thin-skinned bully who knows everything there is to know about every subject (just ask him…), and Hang answered every question posed by the moderator with lukewarm Pablum. Where are the residents willing and able to stand up for our friends and neighbors, people with fire in their bellies standing up for residents victimized by dishonest landlords and for residents wanting to walk in their neighborhoods safely after dinner? Neither of the two men elected have any actual interest in residents – unless we fawn over them and… Read more »
A gross reflection on who my neighbors are. Shame on all of you and you’ve each lost all reason to complain for the next four years. You did this. Stuck it up.
There are a lot of uneducated voters out there. They bitch and moan about what’s going on in this city and they have no idea that when they casted their vote for Erickson and Hang they voted for more of the same. You have to hand it to the union, they certainly know how to buy an election. There is an opportunity in two years to right the ship once again. Hopefully the city can survive another two years of Unite Here’s radical political agenda.
I guess we are lucky Sepi Shyne decided not to run for re-election. Looks like Unite Here could have gotten anyone elected.
Gladly.