Contact Councilmember John Heilman
jheilman@weho.org
(323) 848-6460

Click here to download this bio in a PDF format.

Councilmember John Heilman was active in the incorporation of the City of West Hollywood. He was elected to the City’s first City Council in November 1984. He was chosen as the City’s second Mayor in 1985. He also served as Mayor in 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2010, and 2017. He was re-elected to the West Hollywood City Council in November 2022 and is one of the longest-serving openly gay elected officials in the United States.

Since his earliest days on the West Hollywood City Council, one of Councilmember Heilman’s strongest concerns has been affordable housing. He was instrumental in the establishment of the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, a City-funded organization that develops affordable housing in West Hollywood and the surrounding region. He also helped develop the City’s landmark Rent Stabilization Ordinance. He helped create the City’s inclusionary housing policy, which requires developers of new residential buildings to include housing for low and moderate-income residents.

Councilmember Heilman drafted the City’s landmark ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of HIV and AIDS. He received the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Award for his leadership on the issue of AIDS. He established the City’s Senior Advisory Board and helped develop the City’s Comprehensive Services Center at Plummer Park. He also established the City’s Russian-Speaking Advisory Board in an effort to integrate the City’s Russian-speaking residents into the City’s decision-making process, and he founded the City’s Annual Women’s Leadership Conference. Councilmember Heilman was instrumental in West Hollywood being declared a pro-choice City. He also initiated the City’s law protecting individuals from discrimination based on gender identity.

Councilmember Heilman was instrumental in building West Hollywood Library, which was opened in 2011.

Councilmember Heilman has worked closely with the West Hollywood business community. He was a founder of the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors’ Bureau, now known as the West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board/Visit West Hollywood. He helped establish the Sunset Strip Business Improvement District as well as the business improvement district that serves the City’s Design District.

Councilmember Heilman serves on several boards, including the board of Outright International, an organization that fights for the rights of LGBTIQ people on a global scale. Councilmember Heilman is also on the board of the Jacaranda Foundation, a nonprofit organization educating children orphaned by AIDS in Malawi.

Councilmember Heilman currently serves on the West Hollywood City Council Subcommittees for Homelessness, Sunset Gateway/Wayfinding, AIDS Monument, and is the appointed Liaison to Metro.

Councilmember Heilman obtained his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in journalism. He went on to obtain his law degree from the University of Southern California. He later obtained a master’s degree in public administration and a second master’s degree in real estate development where he focused on affordable housing development. In his professional life, Councilmember Heilman is a law school professor. He is currently a professor at Southwestern Law School and an adjunct professor at USC Law School.

Councilmember Heilman is an avid runner and has run numerous marathons and half-marathons for various charities, including APLA Health.

You may contact West Hollywood City Council offices via email at council@weho.org or by phone at (323) 848-6460.

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