NOTE: This interview first aired last summer, before the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Sepi Shyne is an Iranian-born American attorney, civil rights advocate, and member of the West Hollywood City Council who has been serving as West Hollywood's mayor until last month. Shyne is the first LGBTQ+ Iranian-American to be elected to office as well as the first woman of color elected to the West Hollywood City Council.
As an elected official, she has fought for support and incentive programs for locally owned businesses working to rebound after the pandemic. She worked to increase rental assistance and address homelessness. She worked to raise the minimum wage to the highest in the nation,
Shyne served on the City of West Hollywood’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, on the City of West Hollywood’s Business License Commission, and on the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Advisory Council on which she continues to serve. 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. Mayor Shyne is a Co-Organizer of WeHo Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a community group that was created during the pandemic to help provide resources for seniors, people with disabilities, and people in immunosuppressed households via social media and volunteer check-in calls.
You can learn more at her campaign website here: https://www.sepishyne.com/