The controversy surrounding City Councilmember John Duran’s sexual encounter with his City Hall deputy came into play at the Council’s meeting tonight.
Duran, who theoretically was next to succeed John D’Amico as mayor, in effect acknowledged the unlikelihood that he would be named to that position by nominating the newly elected Lindsey Horvath as mayor. Duran also nominated Lauren Meister as mayor pro tem. The position of mayor, largely a ceremonial one, typically rotates among Council members, with the mayor pro tem succeeding the mayor each March. Because Mayor Pro Tem John Heilman lost his bid for re-election on March 3, Duran was the only incumbent in line for the title.
But Council members in recent weeks have told a number of their supporters that they wouldn’t back Duran for mayor because they believe he has hurt the city’s reputation. That is because Duran has admitted hiring his deputy, Ian Owens, six months after meeting him on a gay hookup app and having sex with him. Through a lawyer he engaged, Owens said that Duran also pressed him for sexual favors after he took the job, an allegation Duran has denied.
Duran’s relationship with Owens has gotten widespread news coverage in newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Daily News.
Information about Duran’s sexual encounter with Owens was made public after Owens was put on paid leave because of allegations that he had spied on the telephone calls of Fran Solomon, deputy to John Heilman. Now Owens is back at work as Duran’s deputy while the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the allegations
At tonight’s Council meeting Duran asked that residents stop criticizing Owens, who was sitting at the back of the City Council Chambers at a table reserved for deputies, for his behavior. “I am a public figure,” Duran said. “You can take all the punches and swings you want at me. It is not appropriate to take punches and swings at him … Please leave Ian alone.”
Duran is a disgrace. He should resign. The whole lot of these deputies should be disbanded. Owens needs to pay for his crimes and stop playing victim. Can’t believe that we are allowing this to continue. Duran and D’Amico have brought shame on the entire community. No other city would have allowed this to happen. Shame on us too for being fooled by these guys.
It is also possible that Duran would step down once the publicity of the recall petition gets out….news media picks it up and that might also give the recall a jump start. I’m a gay man and I would sign it and the gay men I have spoken to about it are willing to sign. I remember the naysayers said electing Obama was impossible…………
5,000 should be doable. It’s different asking someone to sign a petition than asking them to go and vote. A signature takes a few seconds at a street corner, super market or door to door. It’s not the same as asking someone to take the action of going to the polling place to vote in a local city council race where you really don’t have a sense of what anyone stands for. I always vote but this past election I went to the candidate’s website and found not one example of a stance on a specific issue….ie what they think… Read more »
Obviously, there is NO WAY Duran will be recalled. Everyone at the council meeting was heaping praise on Duran, even those that spoke out of the other-end of their mouth vaguely about “ethics” and “reform”. But of course no one in the audience (well one person) or on the dais mentioned the issue, which should be alarming, and of course is very telling. Even our own local “ethics” attorney was all smiles and vague ramblings. Let’s focus on cleaning up the deputy system/patronage system. Trying to stop Duran is pointless, and no he will not step down. The only thing… Read more »
@ Dr. Love. Thank you, you said it perfectly!
5,000 is impossible. That would mean nearly 6,000 collected (because of ones disallowed), three times as many as people that voted for Meister. Recalls, WeHo residents know, are a Republican trick (see under Schwartzenegger), and trying to explain it because of gay activities will make many petition volunteers are LDS homophobes. 90% + of West Hollywood residents have no knowledge of this. Not going to happen, a complete waste of time and energy.
What does it take to get kicked out altogether? This whole mess just keeps mounting. Its like festering garbage. Why would Duran even want to continue? I guess humiliation doesnt even exist. Do you have to be guilty of pimping, dope dealing, public lewdness before you as a Councilmember are considered to have crossed the line? Councilmember positions arent like jobs at a go go bar? They carry alot of responsibility and residents go to the trouble to vote for someone they believe they can trust. If this type of raunchy wreckless behavior is not dealt with now, I cant… Read more »
5000 sounds reasonable and doable.
One might think that 5000 signatures is possible, over the course of several months. Especially considering that Duran has two years left on his term.
From my understanding, the required number of signatures for a recall is 20,000… almost double the amount of people who actually voted in last election (which is ridiculous)…can someone confirm this?
For West Hollywood, the requirement under state law is that 20 percent of registered voters much sign a petition for a recall election. That would be about 5,000 people – roughlyt the same number of people who actually turnout to vote in a local election.
Wow, I am speechless – which is rare…I wasn’t at the council meeting because of illness, which is a bummer. Haven’t we heard and said enough about this mess? This reminds me of the congress that spends its time worrying about Hillary Clinton’s emails, rather than conducting the business of the country. If he truly cares about the best interests of the city, Mr. Duran should step down, and his deputy should go with him – period. I know that last night was a special occasion at the council meeting. Now that we have 4/5 of the new council seated,… Read more »
Owens ($150,000 kid) spends city time allegedly spying on co-workers and working with Rex and bullying city staff and Duran sticks up for him?? Why is Owens back to work? He should not be allowed in city hall until after the investigation. It’s time for Duran to step down if he can’t see the mess they have created. Duran is not putting the city first, He should have spent his minutes apologizing to the city and promising to fix this problem. He is in denial.