The race for three seats on the West Hollywood City Council next Tuesday has roiled the progressive, gay enclave nestled against the Hollywood Hills.
Six challengers, all gay men, are looking to oust the city's current mayor, John Heilman, a gay man who has served on the council since 1984 following West Hollywood's incorporation as its own city, along with two of his council allies, Councilwomen Abbe Land and Lindsay Horvath.
Land and Horvath are not only the sole women on the five-person council but also the only straight members. Should their challengers oust them from office, West Hollywood would make history in having the country's first all gay male city council.
Several issues, from parking restrictions and over development to maintaining the city's LGBT culture while at the same time being welcoming to straight residents, have all flared up during candidate forums. Working in the incumbents' favor, though, is that the city is fiscally solvent while other Los Angeles-area municipalities are mired in debt.
"There are a lot of people, frankly, who are pretty comfortable with the direction of the city," noted Karen Ocamb , a resident and out lesbian who has covered the race for the LGBT biweekly news magazine Frontiers, where she is news editor.
In addition, Ocamb said many women, both lesbian and straight, worry about seeing an all male council.
"Certainly it would be unique and historic. But straight women and lesbians are feeling like, 'If these guys get there who is going to look out for us?' It is no small matter," said Ocamb.
The campaign, at times, has turned incredibly cutthroat and mean-spirited, according to residents, and is the most contentious election the city has seen in more than a decade.
"It's gotten as nasty as San Francisco politics," said Councilman John Duran .
While he endorsed Heilman and Land last year, Duran is working to elect John D'Amico to a seat on the council.
"Even though I completely disagree with every direction they want to take the city, it is not that they want to destroy West Hollywood, we just have different visions," Duran said of his colleagues.
Stacey E. Jones, a straight resident and city commissioner, wants to see both Horvath and Land retain their seats. Not only is she concerned about losing a female voice on the council, but Jones has been put off by what she sees as misogynistic attacks against Horvath.
"We are living in one of the most progressive cities in the U.S. and these are antics people have resorted to. It makes me sick," said Jones, who is also a supporter of Heilman. "I definitely want a woman on the city council, at least one."
It is estimated that about 40 percent of West Hollywood's 38,000 residents are LGBT. Voter registration stands at 24,500, but voter turnout is usually less than 20 percent.
Getting supporters to the polls come March 8 will be key for both the incumbents and the challengers.
According to polling in the race, while hardly predicative of what voters will do next week, Land is given the best chance of retaining her seat. She served on the council, including a stint in the rotating mayor's seat, between 1986 and 1997 when she opted not to seek re-election.
In 2003 Land, co-chief executive officer of the Saban Free Clinic, again sought election to the council and has served ever since.
Of the three incumbents, Horvath appears to be the most vulnerable of losing her seat, according to the polling. An advertising executive at Cold Open, Horvath was appointed in May 2009 by her fellow council members to fill a vacancy created by the death of Councilman Sal Guarriello.
Heilman, a college law professor, is facing his strongest challenge at the ballot box since first winning his seat 27 years ago. His detractors have tarnished him as being arrogant and an entrenched politician who should step aside, while his backers praise his intelligence and devotion to the city.
Of the sextet running against the incumbents, former Councilman Steve Martin and D'Amico, a former planning commissioner for the city who now serves on two other oversight bodies, both appear within striking distance of winning council seats.
Another challenger, Scott Schmidt , a Log Cabin Republican leader and West Hollywood transportation commissioner, is also mounting a strong campaign to be the first GOP member to serve on the council. [While Horvath was a Republican in college, she left the party before joining the council.]
The others in the race are small business owner Lucas John, who falsely claims to have Duran's endorsement; HIV-positive tenant activist Mark Gonzaga ; and former congressional aide Mito Aviles, who gained national attention when he and his partner hung an effigy of Sarah Palin from their roof during the 2008 presidential campaign.
"I am not sure it is really easy to predict how the top three will turn out in a race like this," said Eric Bauman , the openly gay chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, which has thrown its backing behind the three incumbents. "I would have to say that the likelihood that the incumbents get re-elected is very strong. In 25 years of city elections, only one incumbent has been turned out at the polls, and that was Steve Martin."
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings around 10 a.m. for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reports on two out California lawmakers with ambitions for higher office.
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