Photos and notes from the reception celebrating the 38th anniversary of West Hollywood’s founding, held inside the Aquatic and Recreation Center on Tuesday night.
● There was cake, but this was no birthday party. It was a Serious Affair to mark West Hollywood’s upward trajectory and convince the public of good job performance by its top dogs.
● A who’s who of elected officials, community figures and city employees attended, including Supervisor-elect Lindsey Horvath, Mayor Lauren Meister, Councilmember John Erickson and former Councilmember John Heilman, who appears headed back to the dais.
● Noticeably absent were Mayor Pro Tem Sepi Shyne and Councilmember John D’Amico, who we were told had prior engagements scheduled.
● City Staff turned the birthday party into a mini-State of the City event. City Manager David Wilson and other senior staff members outlined major visions and coming developments in a presentation we have requested to publish in full. Public safety was a major topic, as was the integration of social services into a broader plan for the city and its law enforcement apparatus. The presentation was a little content-heavy for the crowd, which had mainly come to socialize and celebrate.
● Horvath drew wide applause from the crowd. The atmosphere was very brotherly; there was no air of discomfort from this month’s divisive election lingering in the room.
● It was WeHo’s birthday but Abbe Land seemed like the birthday girl. The former councilmember got shoutouts and applause throughout the night. She joined the current City Councilmembers and David Wilson in cutting the cake; if you didn’t know better you might’ve thought she had just been re-elected. Heilman was MIA for this photo opp.
📸s by Brandon Garcia
You captioned some! I love it!
Thank you, Brandon Garcia.
Congrats Weho 🙏🏿 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 and I came to love Weho in 84 when the Rage first opened and I took one to lobster dinner 🦞 in those early years and I would have loved to attend but was working out of town. There are alot of loyal friends of Weho no matter our age or titles. Glad to see Yvonne Quarter there as she is so humble but would be a great city council,, very brilliant. The current situation of Weho and the systemic challenges will take a pause while the party prevails as parties surpass… Read more »
LOL. How embarrassing.
Not in the mood to celebrate. This city is in such decline in the last two years. It really is sickening.
This is no longer the great gay men’City … it’s no longer boys Town. It looks like a collection of bureaucrats and political hacks. Disgusting. It’s hardly creative City time. It is a total joke.
It’s always been a joke. But perhaps it’s become less of a joke.
Exactly one well turned out individual amongst the sea of bureaucrats with creepy facial hair and weird hairdos, all preening for attention. Very strange.
How awful to see people like Richard Maggio still parading around like some beloved elder statesperson. Did he, a former Rent Board Commissioner, somehow apparently get to the top of the list for one of the few coveted “affordable” units at some fancy apartment building in West Hollywood? Wouldn’t that be interesting to know how that works.
This meeting was open to everyone. I don’t think there were invitations sent out:
https://www.weho.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/25575/15
It was open to everyone and required a RSVP.
Freeloader’s Convention.