West Hollywood 2011 City Council Election: John D'Amico Sworn In, Says WeHo Starts 'New Spring'

Ted Soqui

West Hollywood City Councilman John D'Amico

John D'Amico, the challenging candidate who placed first in the hotly contested West Hollywood City Council election two weeks ago and ousted incumbent Lindsey Horvath, was sworn into office on Monday night at West Hollywood Park Auditorium.

During his first remarks as a new council member, D'Amico, who pulled off something of an underdog victory in a city where voters almost never throw out incumbents, declared, "Ours is a city ready for this new spring, full of the greatest men and greatest women."

D'Amico was sworn in with longtime incumbents John Heilman and Abbe Land, both of whom won re-election on March 8 but placed behind D'Amico in the final polling results.

After D'Amico took a seat with his new colleagues, a number of Horvath supporters spoke during public comment period and honored their fallen candidate. The dethroned Horvath stood nearby and listened intently.

"We love her," said West Hollywood Women's Advisory Board member Betsy Johnson. "She's done a fabulous job."

D'Amico supporters also chimed in.

"I'm thrilled out of my brain that John D'Amico is sitting up there with you guys," said community activist Allegra Allison.

At his first official meeting as a City Council member, D'Amico sat between longtime incumbents Jeff Prang and John Heilman. With his re-election, Heilman will probably serve at least 30 consecutive years as a City Council member -- there are no term limits in West Hollywood.

That fact has become a source of controversy in West Hollywood, where many residents believe Heilman has gained too much power and influence over the day-to-day operations of the city.

After public comment period, D'Amico, who was featured in the 2010 L.A. Weekly cover story "West Follywood: How a progressive town founded on renters' rights and diversity ended up gridlocked, angry and elitist," spoke to the audience. As soon as he started his remarks, Horvath quickly exited the auditorium.

D'Amico quoted a Walt Whitman poem, thanked his fellow challengers Steve Martin, Scott Schmidt, Mito Aviles, and Lucas John, and turned to Heilman and Land, saying: "I know this didn't turn out the way you expected. But I'm here. We're all here. Here we are. There's a new future ahead of us."

D'Amico also made it appear as if a three-man voting block of him and council members John Duran and Jeff Prang is ready to shift the balance of power in West Hollywood away from longtime incumbent Heilman.

"I look forward to working with Jeff and John (Duran) and the city manager and the city attorney," said D'Amico, not mentioning Land or Heilman, "and I hope we can work together to advance our city to the new path we're destined for."

Heilman later welcomed D'Amico to the City Council and said, "We all have to work together, and we have work to do."

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Tags:

Abbe Land, John D'Amico, John Heilman, Lindsey Horvath, Patrick Range McDonald, West Hollywood City Council

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Roy Rogers Oldenkamp

What Woody said.

woodymcbreairty

John D'Amico is so cute & sweet, I'd like to bring him home and put him on a shelf. That being said, Council Member D'Amico ran a campaign that not only met an exceedingly high bar of expectations, but went up and over it by a country mile. The spirit of openness and honesty at the core of his campaign was contagious among the volunteers and it automatically became their acceptable MO. There was such an aura of warmth and welcome at the D'Amico For City Council Campaign Headquarters, that even my Rat Terrier "Zipper" volunteered there for a day. I think John D'Amico has set a new standard of dignity and sincerity in local politics and has raised the bar of ethical standards even higher for those who follow. John's campaign management team, headed by Renee Nahum, is to be commended - and admired- for the outstanding job and dedication they had to achieving this big win, and for which they share credit in no small measure. I personally have not worked so hard on a political campaign since the 1984 slate of city council candidates that included John Heilman and a later campaign when Abbe Land first ran. I precinct walked with Abbe, enjoyed many conversations with her about "our" vision for West Hollywood, and even had my own "Abbe Land For City Council" tee shirt made, which I still have. (Since there is only one, I guess that makes it an historic relic.) Abbe and I also did a local cable talk show together. Then I sadly watched as Abbe wandered off into La La Land- or was that Abbeland? I think John and Abbe's "vision" for West Hollywood has shifted gears big time since those days and veered onto a new course totally inconsistent with our original goals and intentions. How sad it was to see our city taking a direction that looked nothing like we wanted and expected and how frustrating it had become to watch our hopes and dreams for West Hollywood dying on the vine at the hands of people whacked out on power and determinted to use our city for their own political advantage. I often shuddered at the picture I conjured up when trying to envision what West Hollywood would be like/look like when all the overdevelopement was completed and the urban village we envisioned had instead become an overdeveloped mess, provided I was actualy still around to witness it But not anymore; it's a new day. This is why I felt compelled to support new candidates and new leaders who would respect our community roots, the people's wishes, and get us back on course to the West Hollywood that we all envisioned in the beginning. There is now a sense of new hope that we can regain our original direction, I sure hope so. But we must not become complacent in that our "mission" is accomplished; it isn't. We have to keep our pitchforks out and our torches lit in preparation for the next election - and be prepared to accomplish the same quality of change as we did in this one. One by one....Woody McBreairtyWest Hollywood310 652-6972woodymcbrearity@att.net