Patrick Range McDonaldWest Hollywood candidates meet up for another debate tonight at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium, where hard-charging challengers seek to unseat longtime incumbents John Heilman, Abbe Land, and Lindsey Horvath.
Heilman and Land have served a combined total of 44 years on the West Hollywood City Council.
In the newest issue of L.A. Weekly, the cover story “Dethroning West Hollywood's Martinets” exposes the old-school, political shenanigans that almost always crushes underdog candidates during election season in West Hollywood.
The cover story reveals the dark underside of West Hollywood, which the Los Angeles press corps rarely covers and the political establishment wants to keep under wraps.
Far from a progressive paradise — an image that Heilman and Land often push in public — West Hollywood politicians have created a political system that makes it nearly impossible for them to lose an election.
The in-depth article is a follow up to last year's widely-read cover story, “West Follywood.”
Gay Patriot blogger B. Daniel Blatt also chimes in about West Hollywood politics and the L.A. Weekly cover story.
But six challengers — Mito Aviles, John D'Amico, Steve Martin, Scott Schmidt, Lucas John, and Mark Gonzaga — are looking to pull off upset victories on Election Day, March 8.
Tonight, they will debate Heilman, Land, and Horvath at a candidates' forum at West Hollywood Park Auditorium at 7 p.m. A coalition of West Hollywood residents associations is sponsoring the event.
The debate can also be watched live on West Hollywood's public access TV channel.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
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