City Council honored David Wilson as he wrapped up his final meeting as West Hollywood city manager. The formal proclamation, read by Mayor Byers, laid out the career highlights, but the comments from councilmembers and Sheriff’s Capt. Fanny Lapkin were more personal, reflecting on what it was like working with him day to day and returning to the same theme: West Hollywood is better for his service.
Wilson began with the City of West Hollywood in 1998 as an intern in the Economic Development and Housing Division. In 1999, he was hired as a development specialist and worked on the Eastside Redevelopment Project Area and the City’s economic summit report.
From there, it’s pretty clear from the proclamation that it was his many well-deserved promotions that made him a consistent and reliable figure inside City Hall long before he became city manager: development specialist II in 2001, project development administrator in 2003, management analyst in 2004, senior management analyst in 2007, budget and compensation manager in 2008, and director of finance and technology in 2012. The proclamation also credits his financial leadership with helping the City maintain its AAA bond rating.
Wilson was appointed deputy city manager in 2016, assistant city manager in 2018, and then city manager beginning in 2021.
“Upon assuming the role of city manager, David provided calm, steady, and capable leadership through one of the most challenging periods in recent history,” the proclamation read, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the City’s recovery, along with “preserving fiscal stability.” It also cited the City’s WeHo 40 Strategic Plan and West Hollywood’s involvement with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity.
After the proclamation, councilmembers added what formal documents usually cannot, the human touch.
The remarks began with a video message from Los Angeles County Supervisor Lyndsey Horvath. She told Wilson that West Hollywood is “better because of you,” and said she was proud to work alongside him when she served on the City Council and as mayor, especially during the post-COVID stretch when the City was trying to stay financially steady. Horvath pointed to major policy and budget moments Wilson helped steer, including the minimum wage increase and the hotel workers’ protection ordinance, which she said made West Hollywood “a more reliable partner for so many.” Horvath also thanked Wilson for stepping up after the January 2025 wildfires, when she convened the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire Safe Recovery. The commission is a hand-picked group of outside experts, working with UCLA, tasked with coming back with a roadmap for how L.A. County should rebuild safer and stronger, with wildfire risk and climate impacts front and center. Horvath said Wilson joined that effort and brought his budget and city-operations experience to the table, even while he was dealing with serious personal loss of his own.
Councilmember Lauren Meister thanked Wilson for providing stability “during a very uncertain time,” and mentioned their regular Friday morning phone calls, hinting they weren’t always easy-breezy, but time well spent. Meister also referenced the rebuilding of Wilson’s home after losing it in the January fires, hoping the process moves quickly and joking that the county does not hold him up “too much with all of their codes.” I suspect there are a lot of folks who can relate.
Vice Mayor John Heilman kept his comments short on purpose, telling Wilson he knows he does not enjoy public attention. Heilman thanked Wilson for wide-ranging work across the City, from rent stabilization and redevelopment to finance, and noted Wilson’s behind-the-scenes work during lawsuits. Heilman also spoke personally about their friendship, including running marathons together and getting to know Wilson’s family.
Councilmember John Erickson reflected on knowing Wilson for years and described him as a steady, positive “voice of reason,” someone who rarely rattled. Erickson said the moments when Wilson’s tone shifted were the moments you knew something truly deserved attention.
Erickson also pointed to the difficult stretches Wilson lived through with the City, from 9/11 to COVID-19, and recalled small memories that stick, including seeing Wilson’s family around City Hall and a story about Wilson’s daughter selling cookies from a red wagon while staff worked late.
He also described Wilson as a careful manager of City finances, someone willing to say no when spending got ahead of itself, but able to do it tactfully.
One of the more moving moments was when Erickson said “the man that you are is truly admirable” and then recalled a private conversation during a difficult family period for Wilson. Erickson said he told Wilson the City needed him, and Wilson’s response was simple: “My family needs me.” Erickson said that answer told him something about Wilson’s character and “moral courage.”
Councilmember Danny Hang, in his first year on the council, thanked Wilson for helping him through his “freshman year,” and described Wilson’s approach as patient, kind, and steady. Hang said that shortly after he was sworn in, he learned over dinner that Wilson planned to retire, and he remembered tearing up at the table because, as he put it, he had just arrived and Wilson was already leaving. Hang said Wilson has been a steady presence at his right side on the dais, and he will miss him.
The mayor also spoke from her own experience working with Wilson, emphasizing what his financial stewardship made possible, not just the big capital projects but the smaller quality-of-life things residents see, too. She thanked Wilson’s family for supporting the kind of job that includes late-night calls, early mornings, and weekends, and noted that the City previously recognized him with the key to the City at the cityhood celebration, an event she said Wilson helped “imagine and dream up.”
When it was Wilson’s turn, he confirmed what many already know about him.
“As you all know, I’m a person of few words,” Wilson said, adding that he would not put the room through another long presentation, chuckling that WEHOonline had already posted his full remarks from the City’s [41st] anniversary.
Wilson thanked the City Council, current and former, along with community members who reached out to thank him and say goodbye. He said that he loves West Hollywood and loved serving the community, then turned to City Staff. “It is an amazing staff,” Wilson said, thanking employees for working hard and, with a laugh, “making me look good,” adding, “frankly, that’s hard to do.”
Wilson said he is leaving the City “in really good hands,” specifically mentioning Staff and Jackie Rocco who takes the helm as he steps into retirement.
David Wilson was an amazing steward of the city’s financial resources and an awful and mostly feckless executive leader for the city. Two truths that co-exist in the same space. I’ve been a harsh critic, and I wish him well and express gratitude. Two more truths that co-exist in the same space.
Given the incredibly sound fiscal footing he inherited along with the fact that the City has solid economic base that is the envy of other cities in the County, it would be hard to derail the City’s finances. When Wilson was selected it seemed to me that the Council hired someone they could bully or ignore, unlike Paul Arevelo, the prior City Manager; nothing in Wilson’s tenure changed my assessment. Wilson is a nice guy who has served the City well in his prior capacities, but his lack of leadership and vision has contributed to the City’s current sense of… Read more »