City Council candidates make their big debut | WEHO FOR THE PEOPLE FORUM, PART 1

Eleven of the 12 candidates in the running for WeHo City Council this November took to the stage Tuesday evening to pitch themselves to the voters at the WeHo for the People Candidate Forum.

Host Robert Kovacik of NBC News asked direct and to-the-point questions on a wide variety of topics during the two-hour forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the WeHo Chamber of Commerce, and the candidates came out of the gates looking roundly impressive and well-prepared.

Former child actor Ben Savage of Boy Meets World fame was the only no-show. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

INTRODUCTIONS

The field includes several former councilmembers and current city commissioners/boardmembers, as well as a handful of first-time candidates who are new to politics. The three who receive the highest number of votes in November will win a four-year term on City Council. Mayor Lauren Meister is the only incumbent running for re-election.

Host Kovacik opened the forum by asking how long each candidate has resided in West Hollywood. While some have a long history of residency, others like Chelsea Byers and Zekiah Wright were relative newcomers, having lived in WeHo less than one City Council term. It was one of the few questions that all 11 were given the chance to answer — others were divided up and posed to the candidates in groups of three and four. Biographical info was sprinkled throughout their responses during the forum.

TELEVISING THE FORUM

The candidates uniformly opposed City Council’s decision not to air the forum on WeHoTV, with some calling it a form of censorship.

“It’s an insult to the League of Women Voters and to you Robert that my colleagues decided to censor this event,” said Mayor Lauren Meister, who wanted the forum broadcast on the city’s channel but recused herself from voting on the matter.

“I think that we should be looking for more opportunities to engage the public and to inform the public,” Robert Oliver said. “Democracy should be transparent.”

“This really reflects the dysfunction and the immaturity of the current city council,” said Steve Martin. “It almost boggles the mind, like we’re a Third World republic.”

DEFUNDING THE SHERIFF

Almost all the candidates opposed the controversial decision by City Council to reduce the sheriff’s budget over the next two years while adding more Block by Block security ambassadors.

“The security ambassadors are unarmed,” said Meister, again the lone voice on City Council to vote against the move. “When they do come have a problem, they call the sheriffs. So now you’re adding 30% more security ambassadors and you’re cutting the number of sheriffs. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Byers and Wright tiptoed around the subject, not endorsing the budget reduction outright but opting for a let’s-wait-and-see-if-it-works approach.

“I am eager to see how this decision plays out,” Byers said. “I am very much in support of clarifying the role of our sheriff’s deputies. We would never expect sheriff’s deputies to write parking tickets in our town because it’s not a good use of their time.”

Thomas and Adolphson spoke out most forcefully against the defunding, and Thomas offered a list of additional measures the city should take to beef up security.

“We need to do business hardening with security cameras, and private security, decoy vehicles,” Thomas said. “We need to expand our COPS team. We need to increase foot patrols, implement the behavioral Crisis Response Unit. We need visual and auditory alerts.”

Adolphson and Heilman pledged to reverse the budget cuts immediately if elected. Darvish proposed the novel idea of placing the Block by Block foot patrols under the direct supervision of the Sheriff’s Department. Cockeram attributed his support of the sheriff to his father, a former police chief.

HOMELESSNESS

Answering how he would address homelessness in WeHo, John Duran assailed his former colleagues’ decision to adapt the former Holloway Motel into transitional housing, and he advocated for involuntary treatment of those who suffer from severe mental illness, a concept Heilman also said he supported.

“It’s time that we really treat this issue like what it is,” Duran said. “Not only compassion, but protecting the people who live and work here.”

Adolphson and Martin expressed hope for the Holloway Motel project if “wrap-around services” were provided and the facility was staffed with full-time behavioral and social workers.

Byers, a former United Way employee, spoke out against “criminalizing” poverty and mental health problems, while trumpeting the social services and non-law enforcement approach favored by the current City Council.

BOARDMEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS

Duran, Martin, Adolphson and Thomas were questioned as to whether they thought all of WeHo’s boardmembers and commissioners should be required to live within city limits — some of the city’s 13 advisory boards and commissions currently have residency requirements while others don’t — and they were given the chance to suggest other eligiblity criteria they’d like to see instituted.

All four said living in WeHo should be a uniform requirement, with the possible exception of the Transgender Advisory Board. In explaining their reasoning, Duran and Martin pointed to the recent controversy over Public Safety Commissioner Nika Soon-Shiong’s residency. Ongoing efforts to verify whether she lives or has ever lived in WeHo have been obstructed by City Hall, including official Public Information Requests submitted by WEHOville.

“If you’re not willing to let your residential address be published, you should not be a commissioner,” Martin said.

Adolphson said she would also like to see more specific requirements for each board and commission based on their purviews.

“I couldn’t imagine hiring anyone to do a job within my company that doesn’t have the qualifications or the know-how to do that job,” she said.

WHOM DO THEY SERVE?

Heilman, Byers and Wright were asked whether their potential “constituents” included people living beyond the city limits of West Hollywood.

Heilman said he defines “constituents” as residents only, but he noted that future residents are also constituents, as are the city’s businesses. 

“The business community is also part of our constituents, who we have to serve as well,” Heilman said.  “And we do need to be mindful of the impacts of our decisions on those who live on our borders.”

Byers and Wright held similar feelings, pointing out that the city’s weekend and event crowds and those who work but don’t live in WeHo need to be considered as well.

RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Asked to define “responsible development,” Thomas discussed her role on the Planning Commission approving or denying projects based on such criteria. Duran said environmental concerns must be weighed thoughtfully against the equally daunting problem of limited space for new development in WeHo. He applauded residential growth on commercial corridors like Beverly Blvd. and Melrose Ave. but warned against expansion that would displace residents.

Byers said the city needs to focus specifically on workforce housing and find ways to fast-track developments in order to meet demand. Heilman said parking requirements are a huge obstacle that needs to be addressed, while Wright suggested strategic public/private partnerships to energize developments.

Meister, whose small business task force and idea for a commercial vacancy tax were both lauded by fellow candidates, said the state of California has “tied the hands” of the city in regards to housing, limiting its ability to increase density in zoning. Darvish also opposed Sacramento’s efforts to reduce local control of housing density. Cockeram and Oliver said it’s important to provide a variety of options to builders in order to protect the integrity and character of the city’s diverse neighborhoods.

Darvish said he wanted to “bring down the silo” between the city and the Chamber of Commerce to foster support for small businesses in order to keep them affordable and sustainable. Adolphson envisioned greater community involvement to support mom and pop operations in WeHo. Duran and Wright said the city overregulates entrepreneurs and burdens them with excessive code compliance issues. Thomas and Byers said a more streamlined process is desperately needed for those who wish to start new businesses in town.

“There’s no reason a small business on Santa Monica Blvd. needs 14 months to open,” Byers said.