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Who is Sepi Shyne? Woke 'defund the police' West Hollywood mayor spent $85,000 on LGBTQ crosswalk

Despite the reduction in law enforcement funds, the council also voted to give $14,000 more to the Russian Arts festival for an increase to $50,000

Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne, the first LGBTQ council member of the West Hollywood Metropolis, led the town's 3-2 vote on Monday, June 27 to drop four sheriff’s deputy positions, while additionally hiring 30 unarmed "safety ambassadors" as part of a scheme known as Block By Block. The safety ambassadors’ job is to not make arrests, but merely to offer help to residents and deter crime with merely their uniformed presence on the streets. 

"We have all talked for two years about re-imagining policing and reimagining policing means reallocating funding and that's exactly what that means – you can't just say it without actually doing it. Period," Mayor Shyne said. Besides this, Shyne and the council also voted to spend $85,000 updating the town’s iconic rainbow crosswalk this year, including colors to symbolize the transgender neighborhood and communities of color.

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"The brand new inclusive pleasure crosswalks reveal our Metropolis’s dedication to recognizing and honoring all inside our LGBTQ+ neighborhood in addition to our acknowledgment that fairness is required for traditionally marginalized members of our LGBTQ+ neighborhood,’ mentioned Shyne after town unveiled the brand new design in March. "

Mayor Lauren Meister and Councilman John Erickson who voted against the defunding said he worries about the trajectory of the plan that was approved and the timeline with which it can be implemented. "Community safety is our number one concern," he told Fox News. "When I've heard from countless residents about how they want to feel safer, that involves comprehensive planning and something that is not just drawn out over a decision."

Despite the reduction in law enforcement funds, the council also voted to give $14,000 more to the Russian Arts festival for an increase to $50,000. The West Hollywood’s Russian Arts and Tradition Competition have been held for 20 years because it celebrates Russian and Japanese European tradition, however, the metropolis shall be revamping its competition this year following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Who is Sepi Shyne?

 Shyne became the first LGBTQ Iranian elected to the West Hollywood City Council in November 2020. Shyne advocates for affordable housing, protecting renters and social service programs, social justice, small business revival, and bringing the people’s voices to City Hall, according to the City of West Hollywood. Currently, Shyne serves on the following City Council Subcommittees: Homelessness Subcommittee, West Hollywood Pride Subcommittee, Finance & Budget Subcommittee, Events Ad Hoc Subcommittee, and the 1343 Laurel Avenue Ad Hoc Subcommittee.

Shyne has been working as an LGBTQ+ and civil rights leader for more than 20 years. She has also led many boards and organizations, including the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, and as a Board of Governor and Steering Committee leader with the Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles. Shyne lives in the Mid-City area of the City of West Hollywood with her wife and their fur babies.

The residents, however, were not too pleased by this new move as one asked. "Current police response times in West Hollywood are 2-4 hours. This is only going to make the situation worse in a city where crime is up over 100% year over year. How is this a good idea?, "said one. One asked: "Have you been monitoring it? Do you think that it is going to go down on its own? You are going to have to hire more police to investigate the deaths of the unarmed 'security ambassadors' after they try to intervene in a criminal act.🤣🤣" A third wrote: "You have made west hollywood LESS safe with your dangerous reduction of law enforcement during an unprecedented crime wave. your misguided alignment with a fringe minority is in direct conflict with the people who live here.