OPINION | Sepi Shyne’s inner circle should be open to all of us

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Since she began campaigning for office in 2019, Mayor Pro Tem Sepi Shyne has faced a near-constant barrage of criticism … some of it unfounded, some of it well warranted.

From sitting councilmembers to the media to members of the public, Shyne has weathered blows from all sides, and she’s taken on a strategy of steeling herself from the attacks by sealing herself off.

“Access to me is a privilege,” she said last week on her official Mayor Pro Tem Facebook page, reposting a meme created by London-based psychotherapist Seerut K. Chawla.

The meme is a diagram of concentric circles, the outermost being “strangers on the internet” and the innermost being “you.” Separating “you” are larger and larger rings representing a person’s “inner circle,” those they know and trust, “neutral,” “random acquaintances,” and those they “know and don’t trust.”

The meme is an illustration of social insulation, an instructional diagram presumably meant to help one stay sane in a world of snarky online comments and public-persona drama.

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But posted on her official page as an elected official, the statement begs the question: Should Sepi Shyne limit her access to such a privileged few?

She is notably tight-lipped to all but the friendliest of media outlets. Reaching out through both public and private channels often proves fruitless. Calls go unanswered. Texts get no reply. When trouble erupts, Shyne tends to close ranks with her supporters (and some of her fellow councilmembers), staying silent while waiting out the storm.

Openness, transparency and engagement are hallmarks of good leadership, and the most successful elected officials will make themselves available even to their most bitter enemies.

While anyone in Shyne’s position — whose every move is met by at least some stubborn resistance, whose opinions are mocked mercilessly regardless of their virtue, and whose private affairs automatically become fodder for public discussion — might put up walls as a survival tactic, the more powerful and effective defense mechanism would be to meet the haters head on, to tackle the criticism aloud and slay the runway with the poise, grace and fierce intelligence that got her elected in the first place.

What sets Shyne so far apart from her colleagues is the passion she inspires — the fervent devotion of her inner circle of friends and allies, as well as the vitriol in her detractors. No one else on City Council has this effect on people.

Shyne should embrace both — the love and the hate — because both are barometers of her impact on West Hollywood and the world beyond.

Weighed together, they show a public figure and thought leader whose shine is by no means dimming — it’s actually getting brighter.

The public deserves a place in Sepi’s inner circle. And in turn the public should treat her (and each other) with the decency and respect becoming of those in a trusted circle of fellow citizens and neighbors.

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[…] the interview, Shyne steps of her shell and shares intimate details with host Raymond Eshagian about her earliest days, fleeing Iran and […]

James decker
James decker
2 years ago

I tried meeting with her after she was elected and she blew me off.. she’s just awful.

Tom
Tom
2 years ago

WTF voted for her in the first place. Seems like there are so many voters
are being fooled by these progressive politicians. Or they dont know what they are doing.

Joshua88
Joshua88
2 years ago

Thin-skinned woman.

Maga Gay
Maga Gay
2 years ago

Ms. Shyne, please see a shrink!

Big Frog in a Small Pond
Big Frog in a Small Pond
2 years ago

Ms. Shyne could benefit by a personality adjustment resulting from seeing herself as a victim willing to be an “advocate for presumed victims”. Very insular despite her law degree. Has shown little consciousness of the wider world which is demonstrated by her assumption of power in the “Big Frog in a small pond” venue of West Hollywood. Destructive concepts leading the community into danderous territory.

WeHo resident
WeHo resident
2 years ago

Seems property developers are in her inner circle, just not WeHo home owners or renters.

Smallness
Smallness
2 years ago

SMALLNESS brings hatefulness!

hifi5000
hifi5000
2 years ago

This whole thing on Shyne’s inner circle business shows me she is very defensive.She is proposing a bunker mentality for her life,something you would see in a military commander defending a base,not a elected city council member.

I suggest she gets off social media and any smartphone she has and start interfacing with the public who elected her.I realize social media is full of nuts,but she should eliminate that as most of these people don’t live in West Hollywood.

John Arnold
John Arnold
2 years ago

She puts me to sleep.

No more S#E
No more S#E
2 years ago

Ms. Shyne is going to be the most hated mayor in the United States when she takes office. Which is difficult to do right now since there are so many hated mares. As for West Hollywood, she’s about as popular as Hitler in Israel.

She don’t shine
She don’t shine
2 years ago

But if you say something she does not like she reserves the right to scold you from the bully pulpit. You were too kind to the reality of her motives and actions.

Eric
Eric
2 years ago

I agree. She also speaks to people during council meetings like a bully. Always speaking down to everyone Its very uncomfortable to watch and she sold the people out with her defund/cut vote and really should not be in office, she has no place in the governance of Weho-unbelievable how she was ever voted in.