John Erickson

As people everywhere learn to navigate and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ask ourselves how we — and our local governments — will recover from the devastation caused by the coronavirus. It is unclear when this pandemic will end, but we do know that it will take extraordinary leaders to help each of us and our city get back on track.

John will bring integrity, experience and new ideas to City Hall and ensure that as West Hollywood works to overcome the pandemic, it remains a model of progressive ideas the world over. As an accomplished activist, administrator and consensus builder, both locally and nationally, John’s courage, knowledge and energy are needed now more than ever before, on the West Hollywood City Council.

John first planted roots in West Hollywood in 2010. While completing his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University in American Religious History, he was an intern for the West Hollywood City Council and moved into the city. The internship set him on a path to connect decades of work for social and economic justice with his passion for public service. After the internship, Erickson went on to become Council Deputy to former Councilmember Abbe Land and then the City’s Community Affairs Technician where he worked directly with West Hollywood residents, civic leaders, and organizations across Southern California. At City Hall, Erickson advanced policies and programs to increase awareness around LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, the environment, and civic engagement. He learned to bring residents and local businesses together so that City Hall works for everyone, to take forward-thinking policies from white paper to law, and to provide exceptional constituent services.

In 2017, Erickson was appointed by Governor Brown to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls; serves as the Board President of the ACLU Southern California; and is a member of the West Hollywood Planning Commission where he fights for more affordable housing and smart growth that will keep West Hollywood socially and economically diverse. Among his accomplishments for which he is most proud are the 2016 successful campaign that overturned California’s statute of limitations on rape and sexual assault (End Stature of Limitation on Rape), the historic 2017 Women’s March in Los Angeles, and the #HealMeToo initiative, which connects sexual assault survivors to services in Los Angeles County.

After leaving City Hall, Erickson went on to work as a Legislative Representative at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), and he currently works as the Director of Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.

Erickson’s commitment to activism and advocacy goes back as far as the age of six. Growing up in Ripon, Wisconsin, he joined his grandmother Gladys at women’s rights rallies, lobbying trips to the Wisconsin capital to fight for seniors’ issues, and afternoons volunteering at the Ripon Food Bank. Through his grandmother, Erickson learned how to be a fearlessness, tenacious and effective voice for those who need one. But it was after becoming a victim of a hate crime as an openly gay student athlete at the University of Whitewater that he learned the critical role local community can – and must – play to create a safe and equitable environment free of fear and prejudice for all. Since then, he has fought tirelessly for more tolerant and welcoming communities everywhere he goes.

The lessons Erickson learned from his grandmother, guide him to this day – and they will guide the decisions he will make as West Hollywood’s next Councilmember. Erickson’s decisions will forever be based on courage, knowledge and experience.