Ten candidates will be in the run in the March 7 election to fill two seats on the West Hollywood City Council. The final list was released today by the city clerk.
The candidates include incumbents John Duran and John Heilman, both long-time members of the Council, with Heilman having served since 1984 and Duran since 2001. Their best-known challengers are Steve Martin, an attorney and former council member who failed in his 2003 bid for re-election, and Cynthia Blatt, an employee of the federal Housing and Urban Development Department who has actively campaigned against new housing development in West Hollywood. Larry Block, owner of the Block Party apparel store and a civic activist, was widely expected to be a candidate in the March election. Block decided late last week not to run and said he is supporting Heilman and deciding between Martin and Duran.
The other candidates are:
Michael Cautillo, a division sales manager for Bloomingdale’s in Century City. He has expressed his concern about overdevelopment, crosswalk safety and proper use of police resources, calling out the death of one man and the injury of another by sheriff’s deputies at 939 Palm Ave. and the death of a pedestrian, Clinton Bounds, hit by a car while crossing Santa Monica Boulevard.
Nathan Clark, whose LinkedIn profile describes him as a “comedian, writer, musician and producer/creative director for multiple media.” In a video on his Facebook page, Clark says “I believe the government from the White House to the smaller local offices is not reserved for the financial or the academic elite. We all get to participate in the process.”
Amanda Goodwin, a film writer and director. Goodwin has appeared at various city meetings over the years, including a recent Planning Commission meeting to speak out against a development proposed for 511-515 Flores St. Goodwin also participated in a West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce program to train residents for civic leadership. Political insiders believe she will be backed by the Chamber’s political action committee, despite her speaking up against development projects, which the Chamber generally supports.
Goodwin filed a lawsuit against the City of West Hollywood, the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and two deputies in 2012 in which she alleged she was improperly arrested and jailed on an unverifiable charge of public intoxication and that the deputies involved insulted her because she is a lesbian. The suit was settled with a payment to Goodwin of $85,000.
Joel Quaresimo, who owns a software business in West Hollywood and hosts “My WeHo World,” a local online talk show. In an email to WEHOville, Quaresimo described the incumbents as “old guard” and said “I feel that it is time for a change, a fresh face and voice.” Issues he raised were the pace of development, the lack of affordable housing, a perceived lack of diversity and the city’s payment to settle a lawsuit brought against it and John Duran by Duran’s city council deputy.
Carla Romo, a freelance casting agent and documentary producer. Romo’s campaign website stresses her opposition to more dense residential development in West Hollywood. She also says she will not take campaign donations from developers.
Ashley Reed Stillwell, a film writer and producer. Stillwell also was involved in the recent presidential election, working as a field organizer in Ohio for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
In terms of the number of candidates, the campaign for the March election rivals that in 2015, when there were 12 final candidates in the March election. Candidates Heidi Shink and Cole Ettman pulled out of that race to run for former City Councilmember Jeffrey Prang’s seat in a special June election. John Heilman won that special election after losing the March 2015 election, removing him briefly from the council on which he had served since the city’s founding in 1984.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that Larry Block is supporting John Heilman and John Duran. Block is supporting Heilman and hasn’t decided whether to support Duran or Martin. Also an earlier version of this story said that Michael Cautillo was concerned about the death of a pedestrian hit by a squad car on Santa Monica Boulevard. In fact Cautillo was referencing the death of Clinton Bounds, hit by a car while crossing Santa Monica.
#ROMOFORWEHO ! Carla want’s to bring bike friendly roads, increased walkability, and green-energy incentives to residents and local businesses in WeHo… Keep big developers out of WEHO!
I hope all the candidates running can take the time to come to the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday January 19th at 6:30pm for the agenda item on the Chalk Pre-School that wants to occupy the old Spago’s restaurant space on Horn Avenue. In the pre-school’s plans are 73 student and 10 staff members from 7am to 5pm which is a bad fit for our residential neighborhood. Please lend your voice against this badly formed and badly planned proposal. Our neighborhood has over dozen or more traffic problems on our street for circulation that has never been resolved by our… Read more »
I am a candidate for the City Council and I am happy to answer any and all questions you may have. My bio is on my website: michaelcautillo.com. I will be attending the forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and am available for any other type of interaction that would allow you to get to know me better. We voted for term limits by a 2 to 1 majority a few years ago because the residents want change in the Council and a fresh perspective. I could bring that to the City. I have been a resident for nearly… Read more »
Jimmy, you are OK with Duran’s improper hiring of a subordinate that he had sexual relations with? Whether he sexually harassed him or not, don’t you think he put the city at risk by doing that? Do you think that is an example of good judgment? That situation embarrassed the city, cost it money (even if most of it was covered by insurance), but most important, gave constituents yet another reason to not trust their local government. He kind of lost me, after that situation. I might think different, if it was acknowledged in some way, instead of Duran’s stance… Read more »
When a person like Jimmy P speaks, we all should listen. For decades, here is a man who has given and given his time to WEHO without demanding anything for himself. I can remember knocking on his apt door over 20 years ago, and he met my anger with a calm suggestion that I might want to reconsider my stance on an issue, but encouraged me to remain actively involved in the civic life of WEHO. Over the years, he has proven that he cares about the greater good. Think about how rare that actually is. When Jimmy P talks,… Read more »
Who are these people? Sorry if I don’t know your name from some type of community service, you aren’t getting my vote. John Duran and John Heilman are getting my votes this year. What I don’t think we need, in this atmosphere of political turmoil, that could harm the health and welfare or residents, are new people who have no clue on how to run a city. Both John’s have a proven record of true public service, not just showing up at a council meeting to yammer on, preventing affordable housing. Some i don’t know, and consider them unable to… Read more »
The candidate I was hoping for isn’t running. I’m not sure which way to go now.
Maybe there’s nothing to this, but why are most of the candidates hiding? Only 3 of the 10 candidates offered actual, legitimate addresses. The others all listed off-site mail boxes. We’re a small City, it’s nice to have an idea of where the candidates live in the City. It’s not a disqualifying factor to not disclose (in my opinion), but kudos to Mr. Martin and Councilmember Heilman for listing home addresses, and Councilmember Duran for listing a physical West Hollywood work address. The others? What and why are you hiding?
Adam Bass is right. People need to know full biography of the candidates: photos, family, education, etc.
Agree with Election Woes above. Hoping a candidate’s forum is in the offing. How soon can we expect from WEHOville some press on Mr. Martin’s and Ms. Blatt’s pet peeves / platforms / priorities / biases?
Duran & Heilman on March 7th!
I’m very surprised – Larry Block will not run and support Duran and Heilman. In my opinion
Council members will save their seats.
Wow! These resumes seem thin enough to be nearly invisible. How about these candidates providing a list of 5 examples of dedicated public service in their respective communities. Do any of these folks know how a city works, how policy is set and/or how to analyze complex problems? It’s fair to ask they demonstrate a reasonable grasp of these tasks doncha think? On the job training is not exactly where we are at.