West Hollywood’s newest councilmember, Danny Hang, was sworn into office Monday night as the first Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individual to serve on the council.
Hang delivered an emotional speech that outlined his priorities, expressed gratitude and called for unity to tackle the challenges facing the city.
“My mind and my door are open. I believe the best way forward is to work together to make West Hollywood better each and every day,” Hang said, addressing a packed room of supporters, community leaders and city officials.
Hang emphasized the importance of continuous learning as a cornerstone of leadership, referencing a sentiment by advocate Cheryl Sandberg, who claims the ability to learn is the most essential quality in a leader.
“I agree with Cheryl,” Hang said, “but I would also like to add the ability to use what I’ve learned to make a difference in the lives of our residents. With your help, I will learn something new every day about our city, its residents, businesses, and workers, and I will use that knowledge to improve our bright future.”
The councilmember then outlined four key areas of priority and the ambitious yet amorphous plans he has to address them: creating a more supportive environment for business owners and workers, addressing homelessness, enhancing public safety, and maintaining West Hollywood’s reputation as a beacon of progress and promise.
“Empty storefronts are a symptom of a larger problem that will take all of us working together to solve,” Hang said. “Let us all resolve today to improve our relationships and move forward to help our business community and residents alike.”
He stressed the importance of collaboration across all sectors of the community, urging his colleagues and the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to put any lingering animosities over the election aside and get back to fostering a business-friendly environment.
The Chamber did not endorse Hang run for office and helped to fund his opponents.
When speaking about the need to address homelessness in the city, Hang referenced his career as a social worker, as he did throughout his campaign. His apparent solution is to inject even more money into the city’s sprawling homeless services apparatus, which operates on a multimillion dollar budget funded by taxpayers.
“We do more than most cities, but we can do much more,” he said. “This starts with examining our funding and revenue sources to live up to our commitment.”
Hang also called for bold changes in housing policy, advocating for rezoning efforts and the use of city-owned properties to accelerate housing development.
Public safety was another cornerstone of Hang’s vision for the city. He dreams of a comprehensive approach that goes beyond traditional crime prevention — but as to what that might entail, Hang left things open to interpretation.
“Public safety must be about keeping people safe in their bodies, their homes, their streets, and in our city, Hang said — via improving street lighting, enhancing sidewalk safety, expanding access to health care and addressing food insecurity. He also stressed the importance of continued efforts in HIV and STI prevention, testing, and treatment as part of a broader strategy to protect public health.
Throughout his speech, Hang highlighted West Hollywood’s role as a haven for marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ individuals and others seeking refuge and opportunity. He is eager for WeHo to continue taking sides over national issues and partisan divides.
“I have always looked at West Hollywood as a welcoming place for community, safety, and diversity,” he said. “I want West Hollywood to be a beacon of light for anyone coming to our great nation in search of hope, freedom, and the American dream.”
Hang also reflected on the city’s recent milestone of celebrating its 40th anniversary as an incorporated municipality while making it clear he intends to push the progressive policies and outlook that have defined WeHo over the past several years — even as their popularity in the rest of the national has dwindled.
“This election confirmed what many of us have known for years: West Hollywood is ready to move into its next era,” he said. “Ours will be a progressive era that involves aligning—and in some cases realigning—our city’s missions and goals. We cannot hold onto the basics of the past while pretending we are looking toward the future.”
Hang thanked his family, including his parents, Rose and Loang, for their sacrifices as Vietnamese refugees who worked tirelessly to provide a better life for their children.
“Your sacrifices have made it possible for the first member of the AAPI community to proudly sit on this council,” Hang said. He also expressed gratitude to his brother Brian, whom he called his rock, and to his friends and mentors, including Mayor John M. Erickson, Vice Mayor Chelsea Byers, and former Mayor John D’Amico, for their unwavering support.
The newly sworn-in councilmember concluded his remarks with a message of hope and determination. “It’s likely people won’t remember exactly what I said here today,” Hang quipped. “But I know they won’t forget what we accomplish together in the next few years and how those accomplishments change lives for the better.”
Dear Mr. Hang – please come prepared to future meetings and read the packets. It was obvious you were not prepared for the actual meeting portion of the evening.
All important topics but he said nothing about what his ideas are to help solve them. We all agree those are issues WeHo faces but where are the thoughtful solutions or ideas on how to address them? Additionally, we are already pumping tons of money into the homeless issue and yet the situation has only gotten worse. So I don’t see how pumping more money into the problem will make anything better. We need to reevaluate how the current funding is being spent and try something different to address the problem. The Holloway homeless shelter, located in prime location, is… Read more »
Sorry we were not able to speak on the coyote issue what can we do to get our voice heard?!?!
Danny Hang, in reading, please don’t be a clone of Sepi and do better, thanks!
Mr. Hang, I promise we will never forget you are a social worker…
One thing though, where actually is that social worker job?
I couldn’t help but notice that Danny never mentioned people with disabilities! I’m not surprised though, because when he was on the disabilities advisory board, although not having a disability, he knew how very dangerous they were for older adults and people with disabilities. Yet he still voted for both scooters and delivery robots! He told me that he thought that “scooters are fun!” He also, during Covid when we were doing Zoom meetings, would spend most of his time during the meetings, texting me ridiculing other board members. I must admit I wasn’t totally innocent on that and I… Read more »
Danny, before you start throwing more money at the homeless please respond to what Elon Musk had to say about it:
The ‘save the homeless’ NGOs are often paid according to how many homeless people are on the streets, thus creating a strong financial incentive for them to maximize the number of homeless people and never actually solve the problem!
The more homeless there are, the more money these organizations get, so their incentive is to increase, not decrease, homelessness!
I’m not surprised that you think that money is the solution given the source of funding for your campaign.
Mr. Hang is a direct disciple of John Erickson; I’m sure he will be happy to throw endless amounts of money at any problem as long as it’s not his. Social work, you know.