@wehovillenews
Resident Nicholas Roybal excoriated Mayor Sepi Shyne on the dais at West Hollywood City Council’s meeting this week after the mayor snubbed WeHo Chamber of Commerce Genevieve Morrill, allowing a dozen or so UNITE HERE Local 11 speakers to participate in the primary comment period while relegating Morrill to a second period hours later.
“It is disgusting, Mayor Shyne, how you treated the CEO of the Chamber,” Roybal said. “And as someone running for Congress, everyone should witness your behavior this evening. All of us deserve better.”
In her three years on City Council, Shyne has maintained an ironclad friendship with the UNITE HERE union, which played a crucial role in getting her elected in West Hollywood and whose support she cannot afford to lose in her race for Congress. Along with Mayor Pro Tem John Erickson and former Councilmember Lindsey Horvath, Shyne brought to fruition the controversial ordinance devised by UNITE HERE 11 to raise the minimum wage in WeHo, which is now the highest in the country.
WeHo’s Chamber and its businesses have railed against the ordinance, naming it a primary factor in a rash of closings throughout the city.
But UNITE HERE isn’t satisfied yet. The drove of union members who were sent to speak at Monday night’s meeting came to ask for an even higher minimum wage — likely the prelude to another coordinated effort by the union to line their coffers and expand their influence via their accomplices in government.
Shyne advocates symbols that are unfortunately without substance. Many of the progressive movements f the last few years have failed to meet their goals. Black Lives Matter is but one yet rather than taking authentic ground roots action it is easy to protest, assemble related non profit to reap nonessential benefits that fail sustainability. BLM for Shyne has now receded and slid down the line in favor of her advocacy for the slain Iranian woman whose death launched a movement that Shyne is happy to capitalize upon.
To reflect on Council Member Byers, colleague of Shyne, I discovered some emailed remarks from a trusted friend this morning following the West Hollywood Candidate Forum in August 2022. Pointed out was the fact that Byers appeared to have had the questions before hand as she read her prepared answers. This made me realize that Byers never really gets into discussions on any subject before council. She appears to rapidly read prepared answers. The question is who is coaching her and who or what group may be responsible for the positions she elects and votes upon. It’s easy to spot… Read more »
Chelsea used to stand for something.
So did you. Then you sold your soul and socialized with far right psychos when covid happened.
Chelsea’s principles (or lack therof) speaks for itself. I’ll let my own work do the same: https://www.instagram.com/freeweho/
From what I can discern, Byers won the election because her boyfriend is her campaign manager. She has embarrassed herself at every council meeting. Wish she would go back to making bombs for Hamas.
Shyne is disgusting.
Disgusting, she has no business being on the city council!
The ACL* has shown us all her cards. Anyone still in the game she plays will lose. She has not taught enough fools that you must know when to hold ’em and known when to fold ’em.
I sure didn’t vote for that sham con artist.
Notice you can’t make comments if you watch the council meeting on YouTube. The corrupt city of West Hollywood blocks it. The clerk claims they can only have 20 minutes of comments and that’s at the meeting according to the State Brown Act..
Good point. So much for transparency and an open discussion and any criticism in weho. The best kind of YouTube commenting is on the right side, real time live comments. Imagine how great that would be to trash the crooks in real time.
This all could have been avoided. Genevieve Morrill would have had ample time to deliver her comment during the time Shyne then elected to take a break. Shyne brought this on to herself but perhaps that was what the public was meant to witness. Utter disdain for the public.
This all happened around 7.15 pm. I’ve never heard of council needing to take a break only an hour or so after the meeting started. Sepi knew she was cornered.
Arrive early and get on the beginning of the speaker list. It goes by first come, first to speak. Better a half hour early than waiting around 2-3 hours. And, for hot-button issues, perhaps an extended public comment period might be better policy.
Yes but in the interest of having a fair discussion and all sides heard, an honest politician would do as routine and let more comments be heard. Sepi is afraid of open discussion.
that is generally true, unless they take the consent calendar item slips first
I was under the impression that enough signatures had been gathered to recall the “mayor”. Why isn’t this proceeding?
I don’t understand it either. Shyne doesn’t belong on our City Council & she should never have been there. She’s an invasive bully who’s done more damage to our city & the credibility of our Council & government during her short tenure than anyone else in the city’s history & I wish there was louder & more effective pushback on her strongarming her way into “power” here without retribution. I’m still incredulous that the voters rejected the experience & good judgment & expertise & dignity of candidates like Steve Martin & for the most part, even like John Duran as… Read more »
Martin and Duran are part of the bygone era.. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Three times and your part of the problem.
I agree that Martin & Duran should be “recalled” – back to the Council to help the city get its sh*t together before it falls completely to pieces. No, they are not part of a “bygone” era, they’re both alive & well & if we were in a bygone era, Heilman & Meister wouldn’t still be part of it. Besides, who wants a new “era” when the likes of Shyne, Ericson & Byers are part of it? I wish the haters would grow up & try to help the city get back on track instead of trying to help perpetuate… Read more »
I agree with you, but Martin is an issue flip flopper, and Duran was an embarrassment, unfortunately.
Excellent question. How much more of her agenda must the city and its population endure?
That most citizens of West Hollywood know and have felt the sting of calculating and bombastic Shyne is a telling reflection of the continuing decay of our once thriving and welcoming city. A city takes on the attributes and attitudes of its leaders, West Hollywood is no longer Camelot nor a joyous enclave within Los Angeles county, it’s become the have and have nots, dirty in so many places and callous and uncaring toward those different than the monied, young and hip. If you are not useful to someone, you are not included – a resemblance to Horvath, Shyne, Erickson… Read more »
I have lived in WeHo for a very long time (as in: decades). While I realize that progress and time do change things, I have never seen such disfunction on the City Council. Plus, WeHo has become, for most people, an unaffordable place to live. Crime now occurs in daylight and La Boheme has again expereinced two of their patrons being robbed. Will it take a Councilmember being robbed at gunpoint (or maybe worse) to fully fund the Sheriff’s Department? It seems that if crime does not come to their doorstep, so to speak, some Councilmembers could seemingly care less… Read more »
Very well said. The mere fact that these council members can downplay crime when they haven’t lived here long enough to see what has transpired over the past 20 years is egregious. If your community is telling you crime is out of control, stop arguing with them and listen to them. I do hope their behavior is truly amplified in their future elections by both opposing candidates and the residents because Shyne, Erickson and Byers have zero interest in serving the community, only themselves. Vote them out.
West Hollywood has become too expensive to live in? How in the world did all those condos, homes and apartments get filled up?
Vacancies are at an all time low.
Are you SURE you know what you are talking about?
How embarrassing for you WeHoans who voted for this.
I am proud to say I could see through Sepi the moment she first publically opened her mouth. I admit I’ve been fooled from time to time by some of the others, but Sepi was easy to figure out.