Virtual Swear-in of Incoming WeHo Mayor Lindsey Horvath to Take Place May 18

The City of West Hollywood will swear-in Lindsey P. Horvath as its new Mayor and John Heilman as its new Mayor Pro Tempore at the City’s Oath of Office ceremony during the City of West Hollywood’s annual City Council Reorganization and Installation meeting, which will take place Monday, May 18, 2020 beginning at 5:30 pm. The ceremony will be in a virtual teleconference format. The meeting will be live-streamed on the City website at www.weho.org/wehotv and at www.youtube.com/wehotv.

“It’s always an honor to be of service to the community,” Horvath told WEHO TIMES of her mayorship. “Especially now. I know people are looking to City Hall for help and support, so we’ll be working hard together as a council to make sure that the people of West Hollywood are supported and cared for.”

The City of West Hollywood will swear-in Lindsey P. Horvath as its new Mayor and John Heilman as its new Mayor Pro Tempore at the City’s Oath of Office ceremony during the City of West Hollywood’s annual City Council Reorganization and Installation meeting, which will take place Monday, May 18, 2020 beginning at 5:30 pm. The ceremony will be in a virtual teleconference format. The meeting will be live-streamed on the City website at www.weho.org/wehotv and at www.youtube.com/wehotv.

“It’s always an honor to be of service to the community,” Horvath told WEHO TIMES of her mayorship. “Especially now. I know people are looking to City Hall for help and support, so we’ll be working hard together as a council to make sure that the people of West Hollywood are supported and cared for.”

Mayor Horvath’s Oath of Office will be administered by a special guest yet to be announced; Mayor Pro Tempore Heilman’s Oath of Office will be administered by West Hollywood City Clerk Yvonne Quarker. Openly gay country music singer/songwriter Chely Wright will perform the national anthem, and there will be video presentations from former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and V. (formerly known as Eve Ensler, the writer of The Vagina Monologues).

The regularly scheduled City Council meeting will follow the installation, and a live DJ set by DJ Asha will conclude the evening.

Community members may view the agenda and may live-stream the meeting by visiting the City’s website at www.weho.org/wehotv. The meeting will also available on the City’s YouTube channel; and on streaming services such as AndroidTV, AppleTV, FireTV, and Roku; as well as through broadcasts on Spectrum channel 10 in West Hollywood and AT&T U-verse channel 99 throughout Southern California. Digital streaming platform viewers can easily find programming by searching for “WeHoTV” within the search functions of these services.

Members of the public wishing to provide public comment on agenda items are welcome to do so in the following two ways:

• To participate by providing an E-Comment: Members of the public who wish to comment on matters before the City Council are strongly encouraged to submit an E-Comment using the online form at www.weho.org/councilagendas by no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, May 18, 2020. E-Comments received by 4 p.m. will be forwarded to the City Council and posted on the City’s website as part of the official meeting record.
• To participate by phone: Members of the public are encouraged to email City of West Hollywood City Clerk Yvonne Quarker at [email protected] in advance of the City Council meeting to be added to the public speaker list for the meeting. Please include your name, the phone number from which you will be calling, and which item you would like to speak on. Then dial-in 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting (the meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.) The dial-in number is (669) 900-6833 and the participant passcode is 941 8875 1501 then #. It is important that all callers mute phones until called to speak. Comments from members of the public are limited to two minutes per speaker.

Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on March 3, 2015. She previously served as a Councilmember for two years from 2009 to 2011. Mayor Horvath has a long history of civic and social justice advocacy. She has spearheaded policies to make West Hollywood an “Age-Friendly Community” to better serve residents of all ages. She also led the City to become the first in the nation to impose financial sanctions on Arizona for its discriminatory, anti-immigration SB-1070 law. Mayor Horvath created the first-ever West Hollywood Community Response Team to Domestic Violence. Mayor Horvath is widely known for her leadership on women’s issues and has served as a Global Coordinator for One Billion Rising, a global campaign of the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls. She is also a champion of LGBTQ rights. She has also served as a Board member of the Victory Fund and a founding Board member of the NOH8 Campaign. In 2009, she represented the City of West Hollywood in the National Equality March in Washington DC. Read more about Mayor Horvath here: https://www.weho.org/city-government/city-council/councilmembers/mayor-pro-tempore-lindsey-p-horvath

Mayor Pro Tempore John Heilman was active in the incorporation of the City of West Hollywood. He was elected to the City’s first City Council in November 1984. Mayor Pro Tempore Heilman was chosen as the City’s second Mayor in 1985. He also served as Mayor in 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2006, and 2010. He was most recently reelected to the City Council in March 2017 and chosen as Mayor in May 2017. Since his earliest days on the City Council, one of Mayor Pro Tempore Heilman’s strongest concerns has been affordable housing. Mayor Pro Tempore Heilman was instrumental in the establishment of the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, a City-funded organization which develops affordable housing in West Hollywood. He also helped develop the City’s landmark Rent Stabilization Ordinance and inclusionary housing policy. Read more about Mayor Pro Tempore Heilman here: https://www.weho.org/city-government/city-council/councilmembers/councilmember-john-heilman.

The City of West Hollywood is like no other city in the world. Located in the heart of metropolitan Los Angeles, the city was incorporated in 1984 by a unique collaboration of people including LGBT activists, seniors, and advocates for affordable housing. At only 1.9 square miles, West Hollywood is a robust economic and cultural center instilled with idealism, creativity, and innovation. A spirit of community activism and civic pride thrives in West Hollywood for many of its approximately 35,000 residents and the city has a strong progressive political voice.

West Hollywood works diligently to defend the fundamental rights of its community members including LGBT people, people with disabilities, seniors, people of color, immigrants, women, and others. The city is one of the most outspoken advocates anywhere for the legal rights of LGBT people; more than 40 percent of residents in West Hollywood identify as LGBT. The City also prides itself on being a safe space. Regardless of nationality or immigration status, the City of West Hollywood has a commitment to promoting social justice and equal rights.

The City of West Hollywood has declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and is advising community members to adhere to Los Angeles County Safer at Home and California State Stay at Home orders. The City urges everyone to stay in place, maintain your space, and cover your face. Leave home only for essential needs; always use social distancing of at least six feet; and follow guidelines to use cloth face coverings such as bandanas or scarves so that medical masks, which are in short supply, are prioritized for health professionals.

West Hollywood City Hall is currently closed to the public and has suspended all in-person transactions. All public City buildings, playgrounds, parks, and facilities are closed. City Hall will remain accessible for business and essential services with transactions to be conducted by phone (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

The City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirus and the City encourages community members to follow @wehocity on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications for up-to-date information regarding details in the City of West Hollywood.

To view essential-business City meetings, tune in to WeHoTV at:

• www.weho.org/wehotv
• www.youtube.com/wehotv
• Spectrum Channel 10 (in West Hollywood)
• AT&T U-verse Channel 99 (in Southern California)
• SmartTV Apps: AndroidTV; AppleTV; FireTV; and Roku

For notifications by email, subscribe to the City’s E-Notifications at www.weho.org/email. Visit the City’s event and meetings calendar at www.weho.org/calendar and news archive at www.weho.org/news. To receive urgent updates to your phone by text and to your email, text your ZIP code to 888-777.

For updates and information about the current numbers of COVID-19 cases in the United States and in Los Angeles County, the spread of the virus, severity, treatments, precautions, and other important public health information in multiple languages, please visit websites for:

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html