Zennon Ulyate-Crow had been part of the Westside’s progressive political world for years. Then he decided to run for office, and found out what he describes as WeHo’s political clique does to people who don’t follow “the plan.”
He spent years working alongside West Hollywood’s progressive circles — organizing for housing causes, serving on Democratic club boards, building relationships with the people who shaped local politics. He considered them friends. When he decided to run, he found out what that friendship was worth.
The plans, he said, were for his colleague John Erickson, who is also running for the SD-24 seat.
West Hollywood City Councilmember Chelsea Byers called him by phone in late December, he said. She told him he was “ruining her plans” and pressured him not to enter the race.
“She tried to pressure me to not run in the race,” he said. “She said that I was ruining her plans.”
Byers did not respond to a request for comment.
The two have not spoken since, he said. He said he has seen Byers at public events since and attempted to shake her hand. She refused.
What followed, he said, was a pattern of consequences for not falling in line.
Byers was a founding vice president of the Westside Young Democrats, alongside founding president Joshua Baum and founding political director Alec White. He had served on the club’s board and applied for reappointment. He was denied.
“My understanding is the reason I wasn’t reappointed to the Westside Young Democrats board is because Chelsea put pressure on Alec to make sure that I would be punished for running for state Senate,” he said.
White, who now serves as president of the club, disputed Ulyate-Crow’s account. He said he received negative confidential feedback about Ulyate-Crow from fellow board members months before his SD-24 announcement, and that he missed a key club event he helped organize in October without informing White in advance. White said board members of other Democratic clubs who run for office typically step down due to time demands. “I wanted Westside Young Democrats to follow that practice and precedent,” White said. He did not address whether Byers contacted him about Ulyate-Crow’s reappointment.
Westside Young Democrats Vice President Phoebe Kiekhofer-Garfinkel offered an account that closely tracked White’s — hitting the same two points in the same order: a missed club event, and concerns about Ulyate-Crow’s capacity to serve while running for office. Asked whether she had spoken with White before responding to WEHOonline, she did not reply.
Xavier Lozano, another board member who served alongside Ulyate-Crow, told WEHOonline he was not aware of any negative feedback about Ulyate-Crow circulating among board members prior to his announcement. “No,” Lozano said when asked directly.
Ulyate-Crow pushed back on each point. He said he was unanimously appointed to the board in the past and was unaware of any negative feedback. He said he missed the October event because he woke up sick, had done advance recruitment work for the event, and texted White as soon as he saw White’s message. He said the event went fine. He also said White never mentioned any precedent about candidates stepping down. The reason White gave him at the time, he said, was concerns about his capacity. He said he had specifically stepped back from other boards and reduced his work commitments to make room for both the campaign and his board role.
Text messages reviewed by WEHOonline appear to contradict both White’s and Kiekhofer-Garfinkel accounts. In the exchange, White expressed frustration at the time but told him “it’s fine” and said he would attend his SB 79 event the following evening, encouraging him to add the Westside Young Democrats to the event flyer.
Records show Byers was still serving as president of the Westside Young Democrats when she ran for West Hollywood City Council in 2022. Her campaign biography described her as the club’s “outgoing president.”
As for why he believes Byers was behind the decision, he pointed to timing. “There was no indication that I wouldn’t have been reappointed for any reason,” he said. “And then all of a sudden, oh, you’re not gonna get reappointed.” He noted that Byers, as a founder of the club, remained informally integrated into the organization. “It became very clear that those two things were not unrelated,” he said.
The pressure extended beyond the club. He said he learned that Erickson had weighed in with the Pro-Housing Democratic Caucus to discourage an endorsement of his campaign. Shawn Danino, who leads the organization, confirmed to WEHOonline that he contacted Erickson to explore a co-endorsement or ranked-choice endorsement that would have included Ulyate-Crow. Erickson, he said, made clear on a call that he was not interested in any arrangement that would “platform Ulyate-Crow.” Danino described the call as “a little adversarial.” The caucus ultimately endorsed Erickson alone.
Then there was Andrew Solomon. A West Hollywood Planning Commissioner appointed by Councilmember Byers, Solomon had worked alongside Ulyate-Crow on housing causes, including an SB 79 event in West Hollywood. After he announced his candidacy, Solomon called him by phone. Ulyate-Crow described the conversation as visceral and emotionally charged.
“He very clearly verbalized his displeasure for the fact I was running,” he said. “Even though, before that, he was very encouraging of me getting involved in electoral politics and being a voice for the younger generation.”
Shortly after that call, Solomon took his criticism public. In a California YIMBY Slack channel, after another user said they wanted to donate to Ulyate-Crow’s campaign, Solomon wrote: “Considering the whole thing is a grift, I’m sure he’ll be glad to take your money.” Solomon is now listed as an endorser of Erickson’s campaign.
Zennon said he is running to become the first Gen Z legislator in California. He said the experience has reinforced rather than discouraged that mission.
“I think in many ways that speaks to a lot of the problems with our politics today,” he said. “I am the person seeking to be the first Gen Z legislator in California. I feel like the adult in the room.”
Editors’s note: The Slack channel above is from YIMBY Action, California YIMBY as previously stated.
Chelsea Byers may be the WORST and PHONIEST politician EVER elected for WEHO city council. Such a shame she’ll probably get r elected.
I don’t think most of you realize how late the hour is. You’ve been sold a pup – progressive Democratic Party apparatchiks will blindly harvest the very seed grain that we need to sustain and grow our community. To them you’re a fungible checker board piece – and history has shown us clearly what happens next – ask your Soviet-era neighbors
The far left infighting as of late tells you all you need to know – they can’t even organize themselves – how do you expect them to organize a city, state, or country? Vote moderately.
I once believed these politicians cared and encouraged others to get involved. I was duped. They only care about themselves. If you disagree with what they want they will discard you and attack. Chelsea definitely has her agenda. SB79 will destroy West Hollywood. The K Line extension guarantees that. Progressive policies do not equate affordability. What Chelsea simply could have done was state best of luck on your efforts instead of dissuading him from running. It is up to the public to decide who they want. Not her influence or any other politician making deals behind closed doors At the… Read more »
Too much housing destroys cities?
This reads like a middle school clique getting their panties in a bind over who’s the meanest girl in town. The Horvath metastasis has engulfed Erickson, Byers, Solomon and more. They play like schoolyard children and must be treated like the bullying children they are. I’d vote for the Gen Zer if he rises above the petty crap and stops identifying himself as a Gen Zer because that identity (along with any other identity) has nothing to do with his qualifications to run or represent.
Not surprising in the least bit. Vote. Her. OUT!! The ONLY thing she really cares about is her own political ambitions.
Hear Hear!
I guess West Hollywood has become an easy target vs Beverly Hills or other larger LA cities for grifters to prey and forward their agenda’s at the expense of long time residents who have actual equity in the city. Horvath & Soon-Shiong, Solomon & Byers. These people seem to only hunt in packs. Here today, destroy, move on. And we have to pick up the cost of all this nonsense. Just wait till SMB is dug up for 3 underground subway stations we don’t need.
I’d put money that the $4billion cost of WeHo’s share of the K-line won’t be raised. The only real intelligence on the city council, Heilman and Meister, are terming out.
Why would Zennon be a threat to John Erickson who was blessed by the wannbe Horvath machine? Unfortunately the Young Dems can be just as ruthless as their elders. I am not exactly shocked.
How young do you have to be to be a “Young Dem”? Asking for a young friend.
Not sure except we don’t qualify…..
So tired of the bullying in WeHo by city council members Byers and Erickson. Their Trumpian behavior has no place in our city. Cut the cancers out
Byers and Solomon are nothing but grifters attached to developers. Follow the money, be quick and pay attention because they’re fast, sneaky and out for only themselves.
Postscript: wanna good earful? Have a later lunch at Joey’s Cafe, Byers loves to make calls from the outside tables on the Sweetzer side. Very emotive and loud enough to float through the windows. A good show.
100%
Fine, don’t vote for Republicans but you all have to be crazy to keep voting for the existing tableau of tone deaf meddling narcissists called Democrats
It is unbelievable. This state is in an absolute mess…and there is NO one else to blame but democrats. They have had a choke hold on this state for a decade or more. One party rule. One party’s policies have destroyed this state. Continuing to vote for them is suicide. Wake up people.
What a dumb article. Trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Chelsea’s haters are grasping at straws.
So let me get this straight. You’re ok with conspiring and pushing people out who want to participate in civic matters and have an opportunity to be fairly elected to serve the people? That doesn’t sound like a molehill. That sounds undemocratic.
There are plenty of straws to grasp. She is a grifter.