Lauren Meister and Sepi Shyne Were Elected New Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tempore of West Hollywood

The West Hollywood City Council elected a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore at a regular city council meeting on Monday, August 16, 2021.

Current West Hollywood Mayor Lindsay Horvath elected Mayor Pro-Tempore Lauren Meister as the new Mayor and council member Sepi Shyne as the new Mayor Pro-Tempore of West Hollywood. They both accepted their nomination. City Clerk Melissa Crowder asked for a roll call vote, which were unanimously in favor of the nominees taking on their new city roles.

Mayor Horvath said this was the first time in the city’s history where a woman nominated two women for the roles of Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tempore.

At the March 1, 2021 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed changes to the rotation of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore. At that meeting the City Council approved the election of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore to take place at the August 16, 2021 City Council meeting and the installation at the September 20, 2021 City Council meeting. As part of that Item, the City Council approved extended terms as well. The term of the new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore is September 20, 2021 through January 2023 (for a term of a year and four months). This will achieve the January to January rotation of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore by 2023.

About Lauren Meister:

After nearly two decades as a neighborhood advocate, Mayor Pro Tempore Lauren Meister was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on March 3, 2015 and re-elected for her second term on March 5, 2019.

Mayor Pro Tem Meister became involved with the City of West Hollywood as a neighborhood watch captain, took the LASD Community Emergency Response Team “CERT” training, and attended the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Community Academy. She went on to lead the largest neighborhood association in the city, representing residents on issues such as public safety, traffic circulation, parking and development.

Among Mayor Pro Tempore Meister’s priorities:

• Initiating and supporting policies to save our affordable housing stock and local neighborhood serving businesses,
• Prioritizing public safety, social services, and housing production to reflect the needs of our community,
• Preserving our city’s rich history and unique character,
• Protecting parks and green space,
• Advocating for safe mobility options and fair parking policies.

Since being elected, Mayor Pro Tem Meister has worked on initiatives to: strengthen the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, develop more neighborhood-friendly planning and land use policies, provide social services for people who are homeless, create a Small Business Task Force, establish West Hollywood as a safe haven for LGBTQ asylum seekers, increase community engagement and transparency, implement a Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program, educate the public on safety issues related to children and pets, embrace and promote our historic resources and, raise the bar on design standards, environmental programs and sustainability.

Professionally, Mayor Pro Tem Meister is the sole proprietor of her own marketing research firm based in West Hollywood. As a businesswoman and market research professional, she listens to public opinion to form action-oriented solutions, understands the importance of budgets and resources, and believes that the City must provide good customer service and be accountable.

A resident of West Hollywood for more than 30 years, Mayor Pro Tem Meister has been both a renter and a homeowner in the City. Mayor Pro Tem Meister’s parents, sister, and rescue dogs, Suki and Sammy, also call West Hollywood home.

About Sepi Shyne:

Councilmember Sepi Shyne made history in November 2020 when she was elected to the West Hollywood City Council. She became the first out LGBTQ Iranian elected anywhere globally and locally became the first woman of color elected to West Hollywood’s City Council. Her election also ushered in West Hollywood’s first female-majority City Council. Councilmember Shyne’s priorities include advocating for affordable housing, protecting renters and social service programs, social justice, small business revival, and bringing the people’s voices to City Hall.

Councilmember Shyne received her Bachelor of Science from San Jose State University with a double concentration in Accounting and Management Information Systems and a Minor in Drama with an emphasis in Directing. She received her Juris Doctorate with a specialization certificate in litigation from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco.

As an LGBTQ+ and civil rights leader for more than 20 years, her leadership has helped secure equal rights for all. Before her election to the West Hollywood City Council, Councilmember Shyne served on the City of West Hollywood’s Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board, on the City of West Hollywood’s Business License Commission, and on the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Advisory Council on which she continues to serve. Additionally, she has led many boards and organizations, including the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles and as a Board of Governor and Steering Committee leader with the Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles. Councilmember Shyne is a Co-Organizer of WeHo Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a community group created during the pandemic to help get resources to seniors, people with disabilities, and people in immunosuppressed households via social media and volunteer check-in calls. In every board and organization she has led, she has recruited and elevated women and people of color to leadership positions to create more diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Councilmember Shyne lives in the Mid-City area of the City of West Hollywood with her wife and their fur-babies.