Mayor Pro Tempore John J. Duran will be sworn in as the new Mayor of West Hollywood, and Councilmember Jeffrey Prang will step up as Mayor Pro Tempore at the annual City Council Reorganization and Installation on Monday, April 25, starting at 5 p.m. at the West Hollywood Park auditorium.

Duran insisted to keep it simple. “This is my third time being mayor and I specifically asked the city manager to not make it an event,” he told Frontiers. “Normally there is a huge ceremony with celebrity politicians swearing you in, followed by entertainment and a lavish party. I asked them not to do that. I asked the city clerk Tom West to swear me in. It’s been a tough economic time, so we’re going to have coffee and cake in the back of the room if anyone wants to come. It’s going to be very short and simple.”

Duran was elected to the West Hollywood City Council in 2001. His dedication to service earned him the tag “The Mayor of Boystown,” but he also chooses to be a voice for seniors, the Russian community and everyone else in the LGBT community. Today, most people call him the “Mayor of the Munchkin City”—“The name stuck,” he said. “You think about Oz with its pretty characters and pretty buildings and that’s kind of what West Hollywood is. I’m only Mayor of West Hollywood for a year. But I get to be Mayor of the Munchkin City all the time.”

Councilmember Jeffrey Prang has been a WeHo resident since 1987. He was first elected to the city council in 1997 and re-elected in 2001 and 2005. He has also served as mayor of West Hollywood three times, from 2000-’01, 2003-’04 and 2008-’09. He has been a leader in the civil rights movement for the LGBT community, a strong advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS and has fought for people with disabilities. Jeffrey Prang can be reached through his deputy, Michael Haibach, at (323) 848-6460.

For more on the city council’s annual Reorganization and Installation, contact John J. Duran’s deputy, Hernan Molina, at (323) 848-6460.

West Hollywood to Repair Nearly Five Miles of Sewage Lines

Aging sewer pipelines have prompted the city of West Hollywood to develop a Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Major sewage repairs are expected to take place in the neighborhoods east of Hayworth Avenue. The city plans to fund this renewal project using the Sewer Assessment Funds and Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

According to a city press release, there will be minimal disturbances to the streets above in certain sections, thanks to a pipe lining process, which pulls tight-fitting liner through the sewer pipes and inflates them with steam, causing hardening and adhesion to the exiting pipes, which fills in the cracks and leaves the old pipe looking like new.

There will be instances when some residents and businesses will be asked to temporarily refrain from using all water to prevent sewer backup, water service is expected to be shut off for short time periods, and certain repair sites will be temporarily sealed off where the sewers are being serviced. The project is scheduled to be completed in July.

For more information, please contact Donn Uyeno at (323) 848-6457.