“The ads against me are despicable and abusive — perpetuating homophobic stereotypes while attempting to assassinate my character. WE MUST FIGHT BACK. TOGETHER.” — John Erickson
It is as desperate as it is deceptive. His State Senate campaign reeling from attack ads, John Erickson is making a last-ditch effort to mobilize the LGBTQ community to resuscitate his campaign. When all else fails, wrap yourself up in the rainbow cloak of victimhood.
The LA Blade, Equality California, the Los Angeles County LGBT+ Elected Officials Association and others have joined a chorus denouncing the television ads drawing attention to Erickson’s junkets to the Vatican and Paris as “homophobic”. The clever line “where public service meets room service” in one mailer supposedly relies on “imagery and stereotypes that evoke harmful anti-LGBT tropes”.
We have all seen these ads and mailers; they have been around for weeks. Yet never once has there been any organic, grassroots objections to the content of the hit pieces from the gay community. That is because while Erickson and his supporters may find them annoying, they are virtually free of homophobic “stereotypes” and “tropes” as understood by the average person. The fact that the attack ads have a basis in truth is also a problem for Erickson.
On Friday I received an Erickson mailer that claimed the attacks on his travel were “homophobic attacks” at a time when our community is increasingly targeted and attacked. Our community is certainly under siege, but the community is not being attacked for wasteful junkets to European capitals on the taxpayers’ dime.
Was it necessary for Erickson to fly to Rome to meet the Pope to support a youth sports initiative? Did he need to actually be in Paris at the conclusion of the Olympics to welcome Pride House to West Hollywood for the 2028 games? At a time when people are struggling, these junkets reflect a serious disconnect from the realities of working people and their priorities.
Erickson has been all over the map as to who is the source of the attack ads. He has accused Big Tobacco, Crypto Billionaires and used car salesmen as the prime funders. Obviously someone doesn’t like John Erickson, but to the residents of West Hollywood, that does not come as a huge surprise.
What is so rich about Erickson flooding West Hollywood with mailers claiming queer martyrdom, is that he has not exactly run as a “gay” candidate.
His website is scrubbed of any reference to being a West Hollywood City Council member. In one video on his site, he refers to himself as a “Council member of a local city”! Apparently he is embarrassed to be associated with West Hollywood.
The feeling is mutual. A large portion of West Hollywood — gay, straight, non-binary — loathe Mr. Erickson. They are heeding the call of our gay Assembly member, Rick Zbur, to “vote for anyone except John Erickson”.
Perhaps the Blade and Equality California should ask the Stonewall Democrats why they refused to endorse John Erickson? John did not get the endorsement of the West Hollywood Democratic Club, but then again, the members actually know him.
I doubt if West Hollywood will suddenly embrace Erickson as a victim of homophobia. Erickson is the victim of his own arrogance and disrespect for the community he supposedly serves. Karma can be a bitch.
-Steve Martin
West Hollywood
I don’t think it’s about his sexuality. It’s his behavior. He displays a lot of the negativity that people envision of a flippant gay man to be. His behavior is sometimes of a 19 year old just coming out. His actions both on video and what people have seen in person shows him as just that.
He pretty much “de-gayed” himself so he could sell himself to the South Bay. But they aren’t having it. And we WeHoans already know him well enough to distrust and dislike him.
Erickson is a Trump wannabe. When someone challenges him with the truth, he responds by saying you’re a horrible person. Erickson, who claimed to be Latino and non binary for political reasons, erased his queerness from his Senate campaign and, when his campaign is flaming out, he’s using the “homophobe attacks” excuse. Just like Byers, if anyone challenges her, she claims we are attacking her because she is a a woman. Victimism as a political weapon. VOTE THEM OUT!
There is NOTHING homophobic about the TRUTH.
This time-wasting hit piece is a reminder that WeHo Online is someone’s blog.
135 comments from the guy who thinks the “blog” is a waste of time. That’s not a critique — that’s a subscription. I tell you as I tell all trolls. Put the miserable blog down. Go outside. Live your life. If you disagree with an Op-Ed, write a counter. Until then — move along. There’s no insult in being one of the most-read local news blogs in the nation.
The only counter to truth is lies and I see no one stepping up to write an op-ed espousing lies. Further, there’s a lazy narrative that attempts to use “blog” as a pejorative; we’ve seen it for years now.
If he actually stood up for West Hollywood residents I wouldn’t have cared about his vacations. On Palm Ave there is now the better part of a block that is ugly fencing and abandoned run down houses thanks to a corrupt deal Erickson and Hovarth did with a developer to side step historic designation requirements. Six renter households were evicted. No one living on Palm likes having abandoned rotting houses, but we dread all the trees being chopped down for a huge building even more.
John who? lol. Bye Felicia.
Well written and spot on. I have seen the mailings and such. This guy squandered money on trips, was not effective in building coalitions as a council member and like so many before him only wanted the council seat to launch into something
more substantial like Prang our Assessor who cost us how much!!! I will be glad this character loses and fades into the sunset. I’ll miss Lauren. Now she WAS effective and reachable always to me and my
HOA
Yes Scott-
Second Lauren Meister being reachable and effective. Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone…Fingers crossed Kyle Brazeal, Kody Christiansen, and Jonathan Wilson will get elected and follow her example of what good governance looks like.
Didn’t Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton design government to serve the people? This guy serves himself.
There are so many disgusting traits this narcissistic embodies. Why would he think in a gay city being gay is top of the list to attack him on. His support of that idiotic bike lane on Fountain should be enough to run him out of town on a rail. And we shouldn’t wait for the rail.
Thank you Steve. It’s a little bit disingenuous for John Erickson to claim being a victim when he’s done so much to victimize others he comes in contact with, including his colleagues on West Hollywood City Council. The only thing bad about him losing the Senate race is that we will be stuck with him on City Council for another two years.
Well said Steve, you speak for many of us that loathe this narcissist. All he had to do was be reasonable and polite with us at the last city council meeting. Instead he foolishly attacked us. His downfall is solely due to his conduct unbecoming of an elected official of our city. Danny Hang (forget the awful Chelsea Byers) would be wise to now put distance between himself and Erickson.