The West Hollywood City Council frequently takes stands on major issues in the hope that they will gain the city a national reputation. Now that has happened with an issue on which the Council hasn’t taken a stand — West Hollywood’s “Deputygate.”
The New York Daily News, the nation’s fourth most widely circulated newspaper, published a story today on the scandal at our local City Hall with a headline that focused on its sexual aspect. ” ‘Deputygate’ drama: West Hollywood lawmaker acknowledges he had sex with deputy before hiring him,” the Daily News headline reads.
The story, which quotes from previous stories in the Los Angeles Times and WEHOville, repeats City Council deputy Ian Owens’ assertion that he met his boss, Councilmember John Duran, on Grindr, a gay hookup app, and had sex with him. And it includes the claim by Owens lawyer that Duran continued to make sexual advances on his deputy after putting him in the $150,000 city job.
Duran has denied making such advances after hiring Owens and says he hired him because of his qualifications, not his sex appeal. “People are trying to make him sound like he was unqualified and got the job based on a one-time incident,” Duran is quoted as saying. “It’s just not true and not fair to him.”
The Daily News story goes on to report that the Council last night postponed any action on the scandal at the request of Duran, who is attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C.
Well now that it is official who has been elected, the will of the people has been demonstrated. Had there been 4 seats Heilman would have come in 4th. Nevertheless, as he will be out, and Land is out and Owens is on Admin leave, I sincerely hope the new Council will immediately agree to “clean house.” They should start the slate clean and agree to work with fresh people that are professional. Eliminate all 5 deputy positions as of April 15,2015. Hire 4 people to work together at reasonable salaries. Any of the council that doesn’t agree to this… Read more »
I’m sure his Grinder account is already flooded with “qualified” applicants 😉
He really needs to go NOW so his seat, along with Prang’s, can be filled in June!
What is the process to make this happen?? Does anyone know?? I doubt the new council will (or even can) do anything in time for the next election??
more like moral bankruptcy. he’s not even sorry. watch. he’ll be hiring another handsome, “qualified” deputy sooner rather later.
This is VERY EMBARRASSING for our city !!!
How could this happen & more importantly what’s going to happen.
This needs to be put to bed (no pun intended) & the offending parties need to resign. IMMEDIATELY !!!
Marc Fogel
310 684 0599
in the previous comment I made misstatement that Mr Duran had filed for bankruptcy in the past. Apparently I was working with false information and I want to retract that and apologize for any trouble that may have caused him.
well, at least the guy is hot though neither one of them has even an iota of morals or ethics
No matter what you think of the guy, you’ve got give Duran credit for thinking outside the box and getting things done. His use of Grindr as a recruiting tool to fill vacancies at City Hall is brilliant. How long now before Grindr unveils a new option that lets users upload a resume to their profile? Seriously, I used admire John Duran for his contributions to the community and his commitment to public service, but lately he seems to have come unhinged. I respected his courage to run for Zev Yaroslavsky’s former seat of the Board of Supervisors, and although… Read more »
its SO discouraging….would be interesting to know why Ian is on PAID administrative leave….so at $150k per year, is he really getting almost $3,000 per week to sit at home & cruise grinder all day looking for another man in his “40’s?!” HA HA HA If so, that’s the job i want. by the way @skywatcher what planet are you on that Herman worked to create a legacy? thank you for the comic relief in the middle of this ugly & very sad time in West Hollywood… I hope tonight there will be some changes & then a growing drumbeat… Read more »
That Duran gave a high-paid, high-profile, tax-funded role to a man he had recently met and had sex with on Grindr shows a lack of judgment, self-control and rational decision making that is so shocking, he should resign his post immediately. He exposed the city to financial risk as well as a tarnished reputation. Worse, Owens was known among city hall staffers as being hard to work with and creating an alliance with Michelle Rex that created a toxic work environment. They didn’t think they had to play by the rules or collaborate with other city staffers. Very poor form… Read more »
No matter how you slice or dice this, incredibly poor judgment from someone whose sole responsibility on the City Council is supposed to be that same judgment. IMO Duran at least needs to apologize to the citizens of WH for sleazy hiring practices. It is certainly a slap in the face to the legacy Hernan worked so hard for.
How is working at a Vegas resort and then some cosmetics company (not to mention NO experience with advocacy / community / politics / non-profits, and no previous connection to West Hollywood whatsoever), even remotely related to a city council deputy position? I was asking that even before I heard about this sexual encounter. That just makes Duran’s character look even worse! He is over-rationalizing, big time. The entire situation, including his lack of good judgment & his related behaviors, falls far beneath a position that is intended to serve the best interests of the people. Owens might be nice… Read more »
Duran’s Twitter feed claims he’s speaking at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C. however he’s not listed as a speaker on their website.
http://www.policyconference.org/article/confirmedSpeakers.asp