Thank JEBUS Horvath is gone!
It's frustrating that slimy John Heilman hung onto his council seat by just a few hundred votes, but at least the puppy was sent packing.
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Dethroning West Hollywood's Martinets
Can five intriguing gay men upset the City Council's 26-year dynasty?
Aviles had read about some highly controversial political tactics practiced by West Hollywood City Council members Heilman and Land over the years. The most audacious of those was their pushing through in 2009 the appointment of Lindsey Horvath, then a 26-year-old advertising executive, to an open seat on the City Council to solidify a three-person voting bloc rather than allowing the democratic process — a special election — so WeHo residents could choose their own representative.
Despite a lot of grumbling throughout the city, Horvath filled the spot that opened only because Councilman Sal Guarriello had died in office at the age of 90. He held his seat for 19 years.
PHOTO BY JENNIE WARREN
Scott Schmidt thinks John Heilman "would "stay until he died."
Horvath, a pixielike 20-something woman with short, blond hair, is oddly programmed and almost robotic in talk and style, her unnatural delivery and bland words sometimes coming across as if she's carefully rehearsed the Heilman-Land message in a bedroom mirror.
Now Aviles, Scott Schmidt, Lucas John and the other challengers are battling this political machine up close and personal. They've found it resembles something more like a gang operating an old Wild West frontier town than a sophisticated, urban metropolis.
"They don't want change," says Lauren Meister, a community activist who twice ran for City Council against incumbents and lost. "They're not progressive. They're good ol' boys. It's the same old, same old."
That reality — a far cry from the politically enlightened image that West Hollywood politicians aggressively promote — came into perfect focus not too long after New Year's Day. Aviles and the other City Council candidates were summoned to the office of the Atkins Research Group on Wilshire Boulevard to give interviews that they hoped would lead to endorsements of their candidacies by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party's 42nd Assembly District Delegation, a little-known but influential group of political insiders.
Aviles sat down at a long table with several of the local delegation members on either side and a one-way, mirrored window directly across from him. He didn't have any proof, but the challenger was certain someone was watching on the other side of the window as his fellow Democrats peppered him with questions.
"It was so bizarre," Aviles says, "but then again I hear these stories about political insiders who are willing to do anything for the incumbents."
Steve Martin sat in the same room for his interview and thought he was being observed, too. "You would have thought they could have found a more neutral place," he says.
Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles–based Center for Governmental Studies, a nonpartisan, good-government organization, chuckles in disbelief when told about the endorsement interview. "It looks like the deck was stacked against the challengers," he says disapprovingly.
California Common Cause's Feng says that in her long career as a good-government watchdog, she's never heard of candidates being interviewed in a room with a one-way mirror. "It particularly raises concerns because if it's an observation room," Feng says, "you have to ask if someone was sitting behind that mirror and if campaign strategists were taking notes."
Feng says the office of the Atkins Research Group is obviously not a neutral site and not an acceptable place or way to interview candidates.
A few weeks later, though, the L.A. County Young Democrats mimicked the behavior of the 42nd District delegation, inviting the West Hollywood candidates back to the Atkins Research Group for their own round of questions.
Alton Reed, chairman of the 42nd Assembly District Delegation, shrugs off Feng's concerns, calling them a "red herring" and insisting there was "no conflict" in holding the meeting at the Atkins Research Group. Reed, who describes himself as "an active Democrat" since 1970, comes up with the muddled logic that "it was a neutral place because the room we were meeting in was totally neutral." Reed is actually something of a professional Democrat: The Sherman Oaks resident is also a member of the Los Angeles Stonewall Democratic Club — a gay political group — and the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills Democratic Club.
"The clubs are so stacked," says Aviles, who lost the L.A. County Democratic Party and Stonewall Democratic Club endorsements to incumbents Heilman, Land and Horvath. "It's the same group of people who go from meeting to meeting and ask the same questions."
Los Angeles County Young Democrats president David Graham-Caso refused to speak with the Weekly.
Team Heilman's campaign manager, Atkins, a young turk in local and state Democratic party politics and 2003 UCLA graduate, doesn't care what good-government experts Stern and Feng think. He tells the Weekly there was "no conflict at all."
Atkins says any fears that the Heilman-Land-Horvath slate's consultants were sitting behind the mirror is "ridiculous," and shoots back, "Are you impugning the integrity of the interview process?" Asked if he's an employee at Atkins Research Group — the firm's website cites Atkins as an "accounts manager" — he quickly ends the interview. "I'm not going to answer any more questions," he says.
It's the kind of huffy behavior that's mirrored by his evasive boss: current West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, who's considered the brains and brawn behind Team Heilman.
99 comments
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How about the next time you want to criticize some women, you stick to your well-reasoned arguments and refrain from commenting on appearance or whether or not someone is a "combative" feminist, whatever that means (Did Abbie Land punch a misogynist? That might make me reconsider my vote - in her favor!) You appear to know that it is offensive when someone refers to Mito as "cute" as a way to be dismissive, why didn't you think that dismissing Lindsay as "pixie-like" would also be offensive?
Forthe record, this combative feminist is voting for Mito Aviles despite how annoyed your article made me.
Hi Sarah,
You may have possibly read Karen Ocamb's piece on the West Hollywood race, in which she wrote about possible sexism during the campaign -- a charge that I don't believe is true.
But it was one of the main themes of Ocamb's article, and she used it to criticize any media outlet that wrote anything critical of incumbents Heilman, Land, and Horvath. She held up this article as one example, and those two specific things you mentioned. Interestingly, Ocamb did not seek my comment for her story.
For the record, my editor, Jill Stewart, is a woman. If I had written something that was sexist, she would have most certainly pointed that out to me. I have a long track record that shows I don't need that kind of buffer, but it's there.
In addition, the description of Abbe Land was in the context that she's outspoken about many things, but when it came to facing the press and taking questions about her record, she refused to talk in person or on the phone. In that context, her silence seemed very odd.
As for Horvath, describing someone as "pixie-like" is hardly offensive -- she has those physical features.
Take care,Patrick Range McDonald,LA Weekly
There's footage of incompetent incumbent Lindsay Horvath fleeing from a reporter's question as if she were on crack at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
I think this letter to the Weho News pretty much sums it up:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Horvath flees from questions on fur plan
Clearly, this is a seasoned political operator. You can sense the poise, the quiet confidence, the level-headed management of controversy.
Now we see for ourselves why the rest of the council chose to appoint her: it's because she's so impressive.
Chris Bray, West Hollywood ( http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews... )
Steve martin is just another 'yes-man' for Heilman, Land, & Horvath(sounds like a law firm, or a really bad tribute to Crosby, Stills, & Nash), and should not be considered for re-election...since he has already served on city council, he, too, is an incumbant. And a shitty one at that.
not true--Prang and Heilman vs. Martin was a very famous rivalry a few years back--and they worked very hard to get Martin out of office. Prang accused Martin of "having a crush on him". Martin discussed Prang's alcoholism and the groping incident with the Weho Cheerleaders (the guys in drag!) on a tour bus--lol, it was amazingly "trainwrecky!". But I've read what Martin used to say then, how he wanted to vote, issues, and he was not part of a Heilman-Prang grouping.
@truthhurts: can you be more specific? If Martin is supposedly a "Yes Man" for Heilman, Land & Horvath...then why has he criticized them almost weekly in print for the past few years?
Is it some top secret strategy only you understand?
You know, a simpler possible reason theWeHo incumbents get re-elected (except Martin, showing that voters can be discerning) is that they are doing a good job and voters like them. Occam's razor and all.
Nahh, it's more that in a city of a couple million residents, something like 6 or 7 thousand vote, and the incums have the name recognition by miles. By MILES!!!! I didn't know anything about the second page of the ballot, so I couldn't vote on it, though I tried to look for clues on whom I would have liked. So I only voted for the 3 council seats and measure a (no, of course!)
I voted for a new person to replace the old. Anyone who has been in politics for some time is bought and paid for. I figure it was the lesser of two evils. It does not matter what party they belong too.
Horvath cannot answer questions in an off-the-cuff manner, because life-long Republicans like her cannot do so. She was, and likely still is, a Bush-supporter and promoter of all-things Republican. You can't change hats to suit your political appointment--the people of West Hollywood and California are way too savvy to fall for that shit. Soon, if they are re-installed into office, you'll see your freedoms vanish, and 50-story apartment buildings and office buildings popping up all over West Hollywood faster than the kickbacks can line their filthy, Republican pockets. Of course, their tax-payer funded trips around the globe will increase, as will their Republican-style 'fundraisers', where developers will continue to write fat checks so that they can continue to over-develop West Hollywood the way they have been for the last decade or so...so, go ahead,vote for the incumbants--and you can be the ones to hang your head in shame while the rest of West Hollywood can't sleep thanks to the skyscraper being built right around the corner with its all-night work crews, and the parking problems increase, along with crime and out-of-control rent, thanks to the slumlords of WeHo...go ahead, fuck up our awesome city!
So here is our deal. We do not want to vote for the incumbent 3. We need fresh blood in there. so i pose this to the crowd...what did martin do to lose in 2003 and be voted out? Did he do something to really make weho not like him. D'Amico sounds good and im pretty sold on him. Im for the smoking ban in weho and mito is not. So that is an issue. I honestly am asking for reason besides they are fresh and new to vote for other people. Why should we vote for you as opposed to just voting against the incumbents...
Ian - thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this race. Even though I may not be leaning the same way as you on each of the candidates, I very much appreciate the fact you are asking these sorts of questions. It's like a breath of fresh air......
Hi Ian,
In 2003, Steve Martin was up for re-election. Abbe Land, a former City Council woman, was out of office at that time, but decided to run. Land had the full backing of the West Hollywood political establishment, particularly from John Heilman. Martin, the outsider who clashed with Heilman, ended up losing his re-election race. Land won and re-joined the council. She's now been there for a combined total of 18 years.
Take care,Patrick Range McDonald,LA Weekly
What did Martin do on council? He was a martinet. He picked enemies and used his power to mess with them. Specifically, he became focused on another councilmember to an alarming degree, and did anything he could to block, degrade, and interfere with whatever that person suggested or supported. He treated city council as war by other means. His relations with other councilmembers and the community were based on intrigue and suspicion. The voters eventually got tired of it all and defeated him -- and have not reelected him since. He is the complete opposite of John D'Amico, who has a long track record of treating people fairly, and even kindly. He is respected and a problem-solver.
Hi MJ69,
There's more to story about why Steve Martin lost. See my comment to Ian. In 2003, Abbe Land decided to rejoin the City Council, with the backing of John Heilman. She won. Martin, who clashed with Heilman, lost. Land has now been on the City Council for a combined total of 18 years and is Heilman's closest political ally.
Take care,Patrick Range McDonald,LA Weekly
What Steve Martin did on City Council was NOT side with grand poobah John Heilman, which caused him to bring old cahoot Abbe Land out of retirement (from a scandal involving taking money from the House of Blues in exchange for waiving their parking requirements) AND he criticized councilmember Jeff Prang who got involved in a sexual harrasment lawsuit out-of-town while representing the City.
So Prang and Heilman did everything they could to axe Mr. Martin and get Abbe Land back on the Council.
Read your history.
Damn it, that doesn't make sense!
I meant to type, "Heilman was so pissed Steve Martin WOULDN'T vote in lock-step with him that he..."
Oh yes...the other part of that era's story is Heilman was so pissed Steve Martin would vote in lock-step with him that he got people to throw money into an independent expenditure committee and trash him.
John Heilman is, in my book, a psychotic...and staying in office is not doing his mental health any favors.
PS: the City defended Jeffrey Prang's actions by settling out of court with the guy he sexually harrased.
Hey Ian:Just wanted to clarify your comment about the smoking ban. With that said, I am a non smoker. I do not appreciate smoke in outdoor patios where people eat. However, I am a "live and let live type of guy." Why I oppose the smoking ban is because the language in the ordinance is confusion and not transparent. Ultimately, one business being banned and another business not being banned boils down to which businesses have given the incumbents the most money for their campaigns. Its these political tactics I am opposed to. I want to bring back transparency and accountability to our city. If you would like to set up a coffee or a phone call to discuss this further, I would be more than happy to do that. Thank you for your comment.
This is the footage of Councilperson Horvath dodging a simple question at a park opening last week. (If anyone thinks it looks like she's being "harassed", notice she doesn't tell the reporter he's bothering her, nor does she simply stand still to answer the question from the press, and get it over with.) (It's also odd, in light of the fact that she had to be texted correct answers in the debates, that she keeps saying "I have to speak to my Deputy." Is she hoping they'll be able to give her an answer to use, here?)
THIS is leadership??
http://www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=gDF5-GDn3bs
If you want McCain & Palin running West Hollywood, go ahead and vote for Heilman & Horvath...Land can be their Donald Rumsfeld. Heilman thinks he's David Geffen, which happens when you operate from a place of narcissism and sociopathology. The same goes for Land and Horvath: NARCISSISM & SOCIOPATHOLOGY.
Heilman, Land and Horvath have strong records of support for progressive candidates and values. That's why they are endorsed by the Stonewall Democratic Club, West Hollywood-Beverly Hills Democratic Club, LA County Democratic Party, California Democratic Party, and LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. They are about as far from McCain and Palin as it is possible to be.
Groups like the Stonewall Deocratic Club are made up of small time, lower-echelon wannabes who want to curry favor with the City Council. I really wouldn't take any endorsement from them too seriously. Look at all the endorsements Lindsay Horvath packed in....on the basis of NOTHING other than being associated with Abbe Land and John Heilman.
You must not be very familiar with the Stonewall Democratic Club. It's one of the largest political clubs in the state; it was the founding club (1975) of the Stonewall club movement, which now includes approximately 90 chapters nationwide; and its endorsements are valued enough by Democratic candidates for local, statewide and even national office that they take the time to complete its questionnaires, interview, and seek its members' support.
You are too far out of the loop. Were you at the "endorsement" meeting? Did you see how the worm Jeffrey Prang manipulated the process to eliminate having anyone speak against Abbe & Lindsey? As an elected public servant, he should have enough class to defer to the wishes of the voting public instead of trying to serve his own useless interest. He wants to run for State Assembly but I think he is unelectable to higher office. Abbe & John are ursurpers of power and I think John is a dangerous sociopath. Just my opinion. He too is incapable of rising to a higher station in life, so being on this coucil suffices to serve his power mongering and manipulation. Pathetic. We so desperately need change..change is coming on March 8, 2011
(l o v e s h o p p i n g . u s ) input those all word on your web,you will find the suprise,thanks!
“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.”Sydney J. Harris
Vote out the Incumbents in West Hollywood March 8th. Heilman (Been on City Council 26 YEARS), Land (Been on City Council 18 YEARS), Horvath (Was APPOINTED not elected, after living in Weho for 18 MONTHS
Correction: Horvath moved into WeHo after her appointment---and has only lived in WeHo for 18 months TOTAL. As of February 2011.
but who should we support and why besides just to not vote for the old. i want to support new blood but the new ones have not done a great job of telling me why. i need to know who to support. No way for Lucas John, Mito i really am not sure about, D'Amico i like so far. Why was martin voted out in 2003? Gonzaga hasnt replied to my own email to him...
Guest is John Heilman no doubt. The sad reality is they probably will be re-elected. Voter turn out is traditionally low for the city of West Hollywood. Also voter fraud is alive and well in the city of West Hollywood. I preferred it when West Hollywood was a small community and a part of LA county. Less corruption. more fun!!!!
Truth: Horvath's campaign consultant was TEXTING HER ANSWERS to the questions at the WeHo debate last week...like she was Sarah Palin...
Really? Hearsay from one person who apparently maybe saw this going on makes it truth? HA!
And even if it is true, so what? Don't you remember what a campaign manager's job is? To manage the campaign.
Let's not forget, "Guest", that this info was reported in the WeHo news along with a video of Horvath running away and being 'shielded' when asked a very good question about her sad, pathetic attempt to win votes by jumping on the fur-free bandwagon. She's a typical Republican--try and take credit for something someone else started. What a pathetically sad Republican girl. And, whatever your motivations are for protecting these 'people', no one really cares, okay? So shut the fuck up--you're obviously schlepping for these 3 crooks.
You are a fucked-up conservative. If a candidate cannot stand on their own at a debate or answers on-the-spot questions from a journalist, then something is terribly wrong. People like you will defend the flies on cowshit because they are hungry.
NOT to feed them answers while on stage. Wake up and smell the roses, not WHILE in a debate/forum! This isn't a video game dear, thats breaking the rules!
Anyone who feels that Land, Horvath, & Heilman are good for West Hollywood is living in a fog of delusion and ignorance. These people have taken bribes from developers in West Hollywood to allow the type of buildings that are making this city UGLY !!!! Pretty soon, you will not recognize WeHo because of this, and all of the citizens will have moved to more affordable places, while WeHo itself is taken over by wealthy folks from Beverly Hills and surrounding areas who feel that it's 'fashionable' to live in West Hollywood, rather than any real connection to their souls. FUCK Heilman and FUCK Land...and, especially, with a rotted piece of mossy timber, FUCK HORVATH !!!
It's amazing that anyone is willing to serve in local office when this kind of anger and hatred is directed at them. John Heilman, Lindsey Horvath, and Abbe Land have my thanks and appreciation, and I hope they are reelected.
@ Guest: Not all public figures draw such deep criticism or emotion. The W. Hollywood City Council has just f-ed up and been dragged into court so many times (all at the residents' expense) that people are really fed up and grossed out.
I am horrified at what I discovered in the recent LA weekly article that cam out on Thursday. Our city council member, Lindsey Horvath who was appointed into the job by John Heilman & Abby Land not only voted for G.W. Bush in the 2000 election but she worked for his campaign. It makes perfect sense why Heilman & Land appointed Miss Horvath rather then let due process happen with a special election. Horvath would have never been voted into the position as council member with her lack of experience coupled with having supported Bush and being a republican and all. This is a fact that has not come to light until now. We will have to see if enough voters discover what I did in this special in depth article about the election on March 8th. I was on the fence about supporting her but after this, I can not in good faith vote for her. I urge all voters to do the same. I'm supporting Steve Martin as he has the best interest of the residents as well as the over development going on here in West Hollywood. Out with the 3 boobs Heilman, Land & Horvath.
After all Schidmt is a republican, who I bet voted for Bush, AND is in support of the GOP cuts taking place right now! Ask him!!!!
I suggest you write a letter to the West Hollywood Online News (wehonews.com) expressing the same thing you did here. They publish all letters and it is important for voters to speak out against the secrecy of Lindsey's background and how unqualified she is to be in this city council seat. She also refuses to answer questions in person from the media (except by email so she can pre-prepare) and she runs away when a reporter tries to ask her a question about her background/lack of experience. It is beyond a joke what Abbe & John Heilman have done to this city, it is a travesty and a slap in the face to the people of We Ho. Please vote for John D'Amico as well.
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