Nine candidates run for two open seats on West Hollywood City Council
Two council members will be elected to the five-member West Hollywood City Council in the Nov. 5 election.
Incumbent council member/mayor John M. Erickson is running against challengers Larry Block, Jordan Cockeram, Danny Hang, Dorian J. Jackson, Stefanie LaHart, George Nickle, William West Seegmiller and Zekiah “Z” Wright.
The two top vote-getters on the ballot will become West Hollywood council members.
Larry Block
Block is a business owner and publisher of WehoOnline, a West Hollywood news source. Block served as chairman of the Disability Advisory Board and the Public Facilities Commission. While serving on the advisory board, he secured a budget for the first Disability Health Fair, which brings free services, including flu shots and mammograms, to WeHo residents. He might be seen driving his blue Bintelli cart around West Hollywood.
He is focused on public safety, assisting seniors and disabled persons, protecting renters’ rights and filling vacant storefronts.
Block has developed “aggressive plans to fill our vacant storefronts, with new proposals to help mitigate the risk for both the new tenants and landlords.”
Jordan Cockeram
Cockeram is a native of Minneapolis. The son of an attorney and a police officer, he is running on a platform emphasizing city improvements. His goals include restoring the Sheriff’s budget, which was recently cut, supporting businesses, addressing the homelessness crisis and helping renters and providing affordable housing.
“We have to make sure that we aren’t pricing out our long-term and working class residents, while still preserving the buildings and places that mean the most to us,” according to a statement on his campaign website
John M. Erickson
Erickson, who acts as the mayor on the city council, was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on November 3, 2020. He worked as council deputy to former Mayor Abbe Land and later as a staff member at West Hollywood City Hall. Erickson served as a legislative representative at Los Angeles International Airport and is currently vice president of public affairs, communications, and marketing at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.
He was appointed in 2017 by former Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and was an organizer for the Women’s March Los Angeles.
His priorities will include building “more affordable housing and protecting renters’ rights; reducing traffic through alternative transportation strategies, fighting climate change and making our city more sustainable; and implementing policies that make the city truly free of prejudice and welcoming to all,” according to his statement.
Danny Hang
Hang works for Los Angeles County assisting permanently disabled fire and police responders and other county employees. He is also an at-large member of the West Hollywood Disabilities Advisory Board, where he works to address issues affecting people with disabilities, including ADA compliance, transportation and housing.
The son of Chinese-Vietnamese refugees who fled the Vietnam War, Hang graduated from Loyola Marymount University and worked at the Social Security Administration. He resides in West Hollywood with his cat Piper, according to his campaign website.
Dorian J. Jackson
Jackson works for the Public Facilities, Recreation, and Infrastructure Commission for the City of West Hollywood. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Her priorities range from expanding educational resources for children to providing interim housing and essential resources for unhoused individuals, improving public transportation and building affordable housing.
With the 2028 Summer Olympics coming, she aims to “elevate West Hollywood’s profile and ensure that it brings tangible benefits to our community.”
Stefanie LaHart
LaHart is a businesswoman and the founder of Boomtown Marketing, a digital marketing agency. That experience equipped her to “understand and navigate the challenges faced by small businesses,” according to her statement.
LaHart’s top priorities include addressing homelessness and mental health and enhancing public safety.
“As a renter on the east side of West Hollywood, I am acutely aware of the safety concerns that many residents face, particularly with the rise in homelessness, drug addiction, and untreated mental health issues,” she said in a statement.
“If elected, I will work tirelessly to enhance public safety by increasing police presence in high-risk areas and investing in community policing programs,” according to her statement. “I will work to enhance support services for our unhoused neighbors, including expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment programs.”
George Nickle
Nickle is a West Hollywood public safety commissioner.
He is a native of rural Pennsylvania and has a bachelor of fine arts in filmmaking from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
He worked as a talent agent and has been a manager for actors and Japanese visual artists. He is now a director of sales and business development for a pharmaceutical company specializing in international distribution.
His priorities include public safety, supporting businesses, providing necessary city services and restoring the full funding and staffing of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station.
His goals also include protecting “existing affordable units and advocating for a one-to-one replacement of all rent-stabilized units which are being demolished to create new, but not necessarily affordable housing,” according to his campaign website.
William West Seegmiller
Seegmiller is a radio host and founder of the Free WeHo Coalition, an advocacy and support group. He worked as a medical researcher at UCLA.
He said the city is “overly relying on hotel taxes, drug dispensaries and sex tourism.” His priorities include streamlining “bureaucratic red tape and ensuring local businesses stay open and thrive.”
“I commit to a future where affordable housing in West Hollywood is not just a token phrase but a reality,” he said in a statement.
Zekiah “Z” Wright
Wright is a small business owner and lawyer advocating for affordable housing and sustainability. Wright served as a commissioner in West Hollywood.
If elected, they will be the first Black and non-binary member of the West Hollywood City Council.
Wright’s goal is to focus on affordable housing, public safety, and support of businesses
“Zekiah will work to reduce the costs associated with building affordable housing and will incentivize developers to accelerate the creation of affordable units,” according to Wright’s website.
Wright aims to make businesses thrive, adding that “vacant storefronts, loss of many of our beloved businesses, and over-regulation threaten the sustainability of our local businesses,” according to Wright’s statement.