The city of West Hollywood is celebrating a major milestone this month as the city turns 40 years old.
West Hollywood officially became a city on Nov. 29, 1984.
John Heilman was part of the group that helped lead WeHo to cityhood.
“We were an unincoporated island in the county,” Heilman said. “We did not have any city representation. We were represented by the (LA) County supervisors.”
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The desire to become a city picked up in the early 80’s when the supervisors at the time talked about phasing out rent control.
“It’s hard to think of it these days, but at the time the county supervisors, there was a 3-to-2 Republican majority,“ Heilman said. “They were talking about phasing out rent control, and West Hollywood was a city with 85% renters. Rent control was a big motivating factor for a lot of people in the community to pursue cityhood.”
The other interests were local control and the ability to elect LGBT individuals to elected office, according to Heilman.
After neighbors gathered the signatures, got the votes needed and became a city four decades ago, West Hollywood is now bustling with business and a longtime home for many in the LGBTQ+ community.
“People from all over the world and America look to West Hollywood to be that place where they can go and feel loved,” Mayor John Erickson said, adding that he’s proud of the progress made over the years.
“We have passed landmark policies from the minimum wage to investments in public safety, to investments in homelessness to homelessness care and services,” Erickson explained. “The city of West Hollywood will always and has always remained a beacon of progress, and I’m really looking forward to continuing that.”
As for John Heilman, he served on the first City Council, and he’s still on the council today. As the city turns 40, he’s taking time to reflect.
“You sometimes forget to reflect and remember how far we’ve come,” Heilman said.
West Hollywood will celebrate their 40th anniversary at a ceremony Thursday night at the Pacific Design Center.
