Six challengers are trying to unseat three incumbents on the West Hollywood City Council. A divide over what the city should represent has become a focus of the race.
By IAN LOVETT
Published: March 6, 2011
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Since its beginning, West Hollywood has offered the country’s closest approximation of a gay city. It was founded by gay activists over 26 years ago, most of its City Council members are gay, and the community is famous for its concentration of gay residents and nightlife.
The New York Times
But an uncommonly bitter election has exposed a growing divide over what West Hollywood should represent, with prosperity and urban development pitted against the city’s history as a countercultural haven.
The six challengers in Tuesday’s City Council election — all of them gay men — are seeking to oust three incumbents by running on platforms invoking concerns about development and gentrification pushing out younger gay residents and the edgier elements that have long distinguished West Hollywood.
“I believe we’re at risk of being in a situation where West Hollywood is no different than Beverly Hills or Calabasas,” said Scott Schmidt, one of the challengers. “West Hollywood has a special place in the heart of the gay and lesbian community, and people want to make sure we retain what makes us special.”
West Hollywood’s story is a familiar one for gay neighborhoods across the country. From the Castro in San Francisco to the West Village in New York, bathhouses and bars catering to gay men and women have been replaced with designer retail shops, high-priced apartments and playgrounds. Many lament that this gentrification has forced young gay residents into other neighborhoods in search of cheaper rent.
But the fight over whether traditional gay neighborhoods should be preserved has taken on special significance here, because West Hollywood is not just a neighborhood — it is a city of 35,000 people with its own government, which repaves roads, builds public libraries and holds elections every two years.
Mayor John Heilman said West Hollywood was going through an inevitable evolution as gay residents gained greater acceptance in society. The city’s gay population has aged and, he argued, its interests have changed. Gay residents are more likely to, say, have children and focus on family activities than stay out late at one of the gay clubs that dot Santa Monica Boulevard.
“We still have the same number of gay people, but straight people now feel comfortable going into a gay area and socializing,” said Mr. Heilman, who is gay. “A lot of people are proud of their identity, but they’re not going out to bars all the time anymore. Their priorities have shifted as they’ve gotten older.”
Don Reuter, the author of the book “Greetings from the Gayborhood,” said gay communities nationwide were experiencing the same cultural and demographic shifts — and backlashes against them — as West Hollywood has.
“In every city I’ve been to, I hear people say, ‘I wish this neighborhood was what it used to be,’ ” Mr. Reuter said, adding, “But at the same time, the gay community was asking for acceptance, and what they’ve gotten is acceptance.”
Since long before its founding in 1984, West Hollywood has offered a haven for social outsiders and illicit nightlife. During Prohibition, when it was a two-square-mile slice of unincorporated Los Angeles County, mobsters set up casinos and nightclubs where alcohol was served in back rooms beyond the reach of the Los Angeles police, and in the 1970s gay men started opening bars here.
Today, West Hollywood, where an estimated 40 percent of residents are gay, is a boomtown. Amid a recession that has plunged so many governments into budget crises, West Hollywood has a surplus of more than $50 million. Crime rates are down drastically, and the city has embarked on a huge project to rebuild a public parking garage, a library and a park.
Wendy Goldman, 58, who is straight and has lived in West Hollywood since its founding, said she was pleased with how the city had changed and was supporting the incumbents.
“The city’s not what it used to be, it’s not as rough,” she said. “But thank God for that.”
Yet those hoping to unseat the three incumbents argue that development has made West Hollywood less hospitable for those who have historically populated the city. Some point to a smoking ban on restaurant patios and to plans to replace a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center with a playground as evidence that the city is increasingly catering to middle-class families, rather than young people who want to let loose.
“Some of the City Council members have abandoned West Hollywood as a place for adults, and are interested in attracting a more gentrified set of people to the city,” said John D’Amico, another challenger.
Still, some of those who express nostalgia for the city’s wilder past hope that West Hollywood’s future can include them, as well.
“There has been a shift in cultural values in the gay community,” said John Duran, a councilman who is not up for re-election this year and is supporting Mr. D’Amico. “Marriage by its nature is a conservative institution, which often brings children and monogamous relationships. But there are still glittering gay drag queens and pool-playing lesbians in this community. I’m hoping there is enough room in graying West Hollywood for both.”
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