Features
Feinstein won’t seek re-election in 2024; will stay to end of term
“Dianne Feinstein has been a trailblazer for more than 50 years, We’re so proud of her & grateful for her service to our city & our state”
WASHINGTON – California’s senior U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday that she will not seek re-election in 2024, but will continue to serve out her current term in office.
“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in a statement.
Feinstein added she will be focused on the pandemic of gun violence that has gripped the American nation, her announcement coming a day after a mass shooting at Michigan State University that killed three and wounded five others and Tuesday’s 5th anniversary of the Valentines Day massacre at Marjorie Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, that killed 17 and grievously wounded over a dozen others.
The shooter used a Smith & Wesson M&P15, an AR-15 style semi-automatic assault rifle which had been previously banned under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban legislation she had co-authored in 1994 that expired on September 13, 2004, in accordance with its sunset provision. Attempts to renew the ban had failed.
In her statement Feinstein wrote: “I also remain focused on passing commonsense legislation to fight the epidemic of gun violence.
She ended her statement saying: “Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years. My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”
Feinstein, 89, has been the target of questions and critique in the past couple of years over her mental acuity, which the Senator has characterized recently as caused by the death of her husband Richard Blum last year, as a chief distraction in her life causing uneven perception of her abilities.
Last Spring in April of 2022, in an article by The San Francisco Chronicle, the newspaper cited four anonymous senators — including three Democrats — and three former Feinstein staffers as well as a Democratic lawmaker from California who said her memory is rapidly deteriorating and it appears she can no longer fulfill her responsibilities in Congress without her staff doing a good deal of the work. They also said her memory lapses did not appear to be constant.
The story quoted one anonymous Democratic senator who said Feinstein has a hard time keeping up with conversations. Another lawmaker, identified only as a California Democrat, told the newspaper that they had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein several times during an interaction that spanned several hours.
Earlier today on Capitol Hill, according to The Hill’s Capitol correspondent Al Weaver, apparent signs of her declining mental acuity were clear on Tuesday. After a reporter asked her what message she has for her Senate colleagues, Feinstein asked why she would have a message for them.
“About your not seeking reelection,” the reporter asked.
“Well, I haven’t made that decision. I haven’t released anything,” Feinstein said.
A Feinstein staffer then interjected, telling her that they put out a press release with her retirement statement.
“You put out the statement?” she asked, adding a few seconds later, “I should’ve known they put it out.”
“It is what it is. The time is come,” Feinstein continued.
In March of 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking with MSNBC host Joy Reid in an appearance on her show, said that should Feinstein retire early at that point, the governor committed to nominating a Black woman for the Senate seat.
Newsom’s remarks came after he had appointed then California secretary of state Alex Padilla to the Senate seat vacated by Kamala Harris as she was sworn in as the Vice-President of the United States. At the time Politico noted many women’s groups and Black leaders, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, expressed disappointment when Newsom picked Padilla. Among those whose names considered in the mix for the Harris seat were Rep. Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland and Breed.
Political sources have told the Blade that should Feinstein change her mind and step down early, Newsom is expected to keep his commitment of appointing a Black woman to replace her.
Accolades for a long and significant political career
As news of her retirement spread Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and her senatorial colleagues, President Joe Biden and Governor Newsom all weighed in praising Feinstein’s 31 years serving in the Senate starting with the 102nd Congress in 1992.
Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter of California have declared their candidacies for Feinstein’s seat, while their colleague Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) is expected to also run.
The senator has yet to make clear whom she will be endorsing. Her office has not returned requests for comment on this question from The Washington Blade.
From Sacramento Governor Newsom said in a statement:
“Senator Feinstein has been a powerful champion for California and California values on the national stage for three decades – changing lives across our state and nation for the better while opening doors for generations of women leaders.
“A daughter of San Francisco, Senator Feinstein became the first woman to serve as mayor of the city after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. The tragic events of that day led to her lifetime crusade for common-sense gun control laws, including her role as author of a federal assault weapons ban. For the last 30 years, she has served her state with distinction as our senior U.S. Senator, blazing a trail for a new generation of female lawmakers.
“Throughout her career, Senator Feinstein has worked tirelessly across the aisle to advance tremendous progress on priorities that matter deeply to Americans. Her lifetime of service and leadership has made our country fairer, safer and stronger, and I am proud to call her a mentor and a friend. California and the nation owe Senator Feinstein a deep debt of gratitude.”
Speaking to reporters, Senate Majority Leader Schumer called her “a legend” and “an amazing person.”
“She’s a legend. A legend in California as the first woman senator. A legend in this Senate, she was the leader on so many different issues,” he said.
Schumer also told reporters that Feinstein at the Democrats’ caucus lunch “got a standing ovation that lasted minutes and minutes and minutes, one of the longest I’ve ever seen, which shows the love our caucus, and our country, have for this wonderful leader and legend.”
California’s other U.S. Senator Alex Padilla said in an emailed statement:
“You can’t tell the story of California politics—or the story of American politics—without the trailblazing career of Dianne Feinstein. For five decades, California has been privileged to have as gifted, as dedicated, and as iconic a public servant as my colleague.
“From her early days in San Francisco City Hall helping bring together and heal a wounded city after the assassination of Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk, to her election as the first woman to represent California in the U.S. Senate, in the face of violence, stifling misogyny, and great personal loss, she broke down barriers and created a government that better represented the people—and the spirit—of California.
“Her selfless service and unrivaled grit and persistence have given our state so many treasures that many Californians now take for granted, from Joshua Tree National Park, to the clear blue water of Lake Tahoe, to the thriving redwoods north of San Francisco Bay and the wetlands that surround it. And because of her leadership against all of the odds, the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban saved countless lives and made our country safer in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“On a personal note, Dianne gave me one of my first jobs in politics as a young MIT grad looking to make a difference in my community. She was the embodiment of principled leadership and taking on the difficult issues, and it’s in part because of her groundbreaking career that a Latino son of immigrants could one day join her in breaking down barriers and serving alongside her.
“I’ll truly miss her leadership and her counsel in the U.S. Senate. But the legacy she leaves behind will be carried on by the 40 million Californians who now see their government—and their country—differently because of her service.
“Thank you, Senator Feinstein.”
President Biden who served with Feinstein in the Senate said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon by the White House:
Senator Dianne Feinstein was elected in 1992 – dubbed the Year of the Woman in part because of her victory. Often the only woman in the room, she was determined to lift America up, and through her intellect, empathy, character, and drive, to make this country everything it could be.
As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I knew I wanted Dianne to serve alongside me, with her proven track record of standing up for people’s rights and fighting to make their lives better. She agreed to join the Committee, and the nation was better for it.
Through force of will, she led the fight to get the assault weapons ban passed. Like so many who have been touched by gun violence, that victory was personal for her. She is a passionate defender of civil liberties and a strong voice for national security policies that keep us safe while honoring our values. A lifelong Californian, she has worked tirelessly to protect our environment for future generations.
Over the three decades I’ve known her, Dianne and her late husband Richard became dear friends to Jill and me. I’ve served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best. I look forward to continuing to work with her as she serves out her term.
Rep. Schiff who is vying to replace her in the Senate having declared his candidacy a week ago praised Feinstein’s record in a tweet:
Dianne Feinstein is one of the finest legislators we’ve ever known.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 14, 2023
From the torture report, a dogged pursuit of gun safety, and championship of LGBTQ+ rights, her body of work defines her legacy.
We are so grateful for her ongoing leadership.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the city’s first Black female mayor, paid tribute to her predecessor in a statement calling her “a trailblazer in every sense of the word.”
“From becoming San Francisco’s first female mayor in 1978 to being sworn in as California’s first female senator in 1992, she has always served our city, state, and country with conviction and honor,” Breed said. “Her landmark policy victories in the Senate like the Assault Weapons Ban, the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and reckoning with our country’s past with unlawful interrogation tactics made our country safer, our society more equal, and our nation more true to its ideals. As the longest serving female senator in our nation’s history, Senator Feinstein will leave a long legacy of legislative achievements and shattered glass ceilings that young women everywhere can look to and be inspired by as they too consider what service they can do for their country.”
Public Service
A native San Franciscan born in the city on June 22, 1933, she first attended San Francisco public schools and then graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in 1951.
She earned her degree at Stanford University in Palo Alto in 1955 and became actively involved in government service first serving as a member of the California Women’s Board of Terms and Parole 1960-1966.
In her first foray into city politics she won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing the Marina neighborhood, serving from 1970-1978, and as president 1970-1971, 1974-1975, 1978.
In 1978 Feinstein was thrust into the state and national political spotlight when on November 27, 1978 she became the mayor of San Francisco, after disgruntled former city supervisor Dan White entered City Hall and assassinated Mayor George Moscone after Moscone refused to appoint White back into his seat he had resigned from days before. White then also murdered openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk who had sparred with White over gay rights and had opposed White getting his seat back.
Feinstein served as mayor for ten years from 1978-1988 then she served on the board as a director of the Bank of California 1988-1989 at which point she made an unsuccessful run as a candidate for Governor of California in 1990.
After losing that race for governor in 1990, Feinstein later won a special election on November 3, 1992, as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. The special election was triggered by the resignation of Pete Wilson, who had defeated her in the 1990 gubernatorial election. She took office on November 4, 1992, and was subsequently reelected in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and again in 2018 for the term ending January 3, 2025.
Feinstein’s record on LGBTQ+ rights was mixed
Senator Feinstein’s record on LGBTQ+ rights was mixed as reported on by San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ newspaper The Bay Area Reporter’s Assistant Editor John Ferrannini who noted:
Earlier in that campaign [1979] she’d faced some opposition from members of the LGBTQ community after she made remarks to Ladies’ Home Journal perceived as homophobic, but later won community support after gay candidate David Scott endorsed her in a runoff against independent Quentin Kopp. Scott endorsed Feinstein after she committed to appoint a gay person to the police oversight panel, which Feinstein followed through on with her appointment of lesbian Jo Daly.
Feinstein’s veto of city employee benefits for domestic partners led to a recall effort in 1983, though she won 81% to 18%.
[…]
In the Senate she was one of the few Democratic members who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which had been supported by then-senator and current President Joe Biden (D). The last vestiges of DOMA were formally repealed in December when Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act. DOMA had key provisions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 (Section 3, U.S. v. Windsor) and 2015 (Section 2, Obergefell v. Hodges).
Feinstein was never without controversy though, and in 2004 upset more progressive Democrats when she said then-mayor and now Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to order San Francisco officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was “too much, too fast, too soon.”
[…]
She was criticized in 2020 when she said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing was “one of the best” and hugged Senator Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina), then the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Barrett’s vote last June on the Supreme Court was key for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion as a constitutional right, a key issue for Feinstein.
In 2017 the Senator openly criticized then President Trump’s ban on trans military service.
Out gay California state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) wrote on Twitter:
“Dianne Feinstein has been a trailblazer for more than 50 years,” he stated. “Her accomplishments are legion. We’re so proud of her in San Francisco & grateful for her service to our city & our state.”
Dianne Feinstein has been a trailblazer for more than 50 years. Her accomplishments are legion. We’re so proud of her in San Francisco & grateful for her service to our city & our state.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) February 14, 2023
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang:
“Throughout her storied political career, Dianne Feinstein has been a champion for LGBTQ+ rights – from her early days on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors serving alongside Harvey Milk, to her historic service as the first woman Mayor of San Francisco and the first woman to represent California in the United States Senate.
“From being one of only 14 Senators to oppose the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 to being the lead Senate sponsor on the recently-signed Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed DOMA, Senator Feinstein has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of not only her constituents, but all LGBTQ+ Americans.
“She has supported landmark federal hate crime legislation, fought for access to life-saving treatment for people living with HIV, sponsored the Equality Act, spoken out in support of LGBTQ+ service members before and after ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, and has stood up for our community – even before it was popular to do so and when it presented significant political risks. Senator Feinstein has also been a leading champion in the fight against gun violence, recently reintroducing legislation to ban high-capacity magazines in the wake of deadly mass shootings like those at Club Q – an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado. Equality California has been proud to call her a friend and ally –we are eternally grateful for her service and will continue to work with her as she finishes out her term.”
Additional reporting by Andrés I. Jové Rodríguez
Features
Ariela Cuellar is fighting the “pendulum” swinging against LGBTQ+ health equity
The Blade sat down with Cuellar, who combines storytelling and education to raise awareness around LGBTQ+ health disparities.
Thirty miles north of San Francisco, in a town hugged by the San Pablo Bay, Ariela Cuellar grew up with little exposure or connection to the queerness she now proudly inhabits. Cuellar is the senior communications specialist at the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, where she creates educational materials and storytelling that champions queer people’s health, social equity, and political empowerment.
As an adolescent, Cuellar attended a private Catholic school in Vallejo, where conversations around health and sex education were funneled through the lenses of abstinence and piety. Sex was taught as something to avoid; it was a rite of passage that was meant to facilitate and affirm the sanctity of family, marriage, and religious devotion.
Visible queerness was shunned, too. Only a few of Cuellar’s classmates were out, and rumors quickly spread about them. “Queer folks were not talked about in a positive light,” Cuellar told the Blade. There were no LGBTQ+ resource centers in town either, rendering queerness invisible if not outright impossible.
When she entered college at UC Davis, Cuellar began to explore new arenas of possibility, which involved active participation in queer and feminist spaces. She interned for the Women’s Resources and Research Center and helped organize the campus’s Feminist Film Festival. “That’s where I first got my experience working in communications and with a community-based center,” Cuellar said. “[From] that space, I knew I really wanted to be in advocacy and also be around my people.”
Upon graduating, Cuellar worked in community engagement and marketing at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center before moving into her current role at the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network.
The organization mobilizes LGBTQ+ coalitions across the state to strengthen the ongoing fight for queer rights and protections. Staff members host panels on important legislation and LGBTQ+ research; organize events that bring the community together for conversations around health access, substance abuse, and mental health; and create culturally sensitive education on stigmatized subjects to reflect and support the entire breadth of the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
The Network is stitched together by queer educators and advocates, including Cuellar, who are dedicated to upholding nuance and inclusion in their work. They make sure that their own humanity, and the humanity of their community members, is what is felt first. “We’re not robots that show up with our work hat on,” Cuellar said. “We, as queer people, are also feeling the impacts of these real-world events. It feels like a pendulum…progress has been set back.”
To combat federal attacks against the queer community, the Network is prepared to ramp up its efforts this year. Cuellar explains that this involves increased advocacy for trans youth, and making sure more conversations are sparked around bodily autonomy, gender affirming care, and debunking misinformation around trans people.
The Network is also hosting a “Pride in Prevention” event on April 2, where they are collaborating with Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural for a day of community care at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center. Various organizations will be present to provide resources on substance use prevention, structural violence, incarceration, and other topics for people to engage with. Cuellar says the atmosphere will be comfortable and relaxed: a chance to learn, in a safe space, about how one can be proactive about their health.
Community efforts like these are imperative in confronting the disparities and gaps LGBTQ+ people face when accessing the care they need. In a new Measure of America report on the well-being of various Angelenos, 11% of cisgender LGBTQ+ adults and 21% of trans and nonbinary adults reported that they had not sought out health care because they were afraid they would be treated unfairly based on their gender or sexual identity.
Local activations that center queer health and destigmatization can build bridges for a more equitable and healthy future for queer folks, including the most marginalized in these communities. Organizations like the Network inspire that hope. “We’ve been in difficult and similar situations before,” Cuellar said. “With community strength, knowledge, and relationship-building, I know we’ll be able to make it past this administration and after this.”
Pride in Prevention takes place on April 2, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center. More information can be found here, as well as on the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network’s social media.
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Features
Why we go to WeHo: Talking tourism with Visit West Hollywood’s Tom Kiely
West Hollywood transformed itself into a globally known queer travel destination through the bold and innovative tourism leadership led by Visit West Hollywood’s Tom Kiely.
WeHo: Where to even begin with this queer fever dream of a city? Many moons before Visit West Hollywood became the well-manicured global brand that it is today, it was an alkyl nitrate-scented social experiment in what could happen when a small yet bold city dares to take a chance on itself. As a forefather of the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) model, WeHo envisioned what a West Coast gay mecca could look like and then made it a glossed-up, oh-so-tangible reality.
From their early days as an unincorporated pocket of the behemoth that is Los Angeles County to its own city, it has never once shied away from dancing to the beat of its own DJ set. And it is folks like Visit West Hollywood President and CEO Tom Kiely who have pioneered tourism models. The Blade had the chance to sit down with Kiely and discuss what it takes to turn a 1.9 square mile city into the globally known gaycation destination that it is today.
Visit West Hollywood began as one of the earliest Tourism Business Improvement Districts. Could you share one special part from that evolution?
From an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, you will find a long history of forward-thinking cultural progress in West Hollywood. The City Council worked to support local businesses by innovatively developing a stand-alone non-profit organization, with secured funding and a singular purpose of promoting visitation to West Hollywood hotels.
Tourism Business Improvement Districts (TBIDS) are now considered the gold standard for tourism marketing organizations. City community leader, lawyer, and Council member John Heilman worked alongside others to form the foundation of Visit West Hollywood, and he continues as Mayor through today. Under Mayor Heilman’s leadership, the 2026 TBID renewal strategy was unanimously supported and solidifies the largest scope for Visit West Hollywood through the next decade as a once-in-a-lifetime mega series of sporting events comes to L.A. in the coming years.
West Hollywood is just under two square miles, yet it packs a punch. What’s the secret that makes this tiny urban gayborhood the shining queer beacon that it is?
West Hollywood’s footprint has long reached beyond its shoe size. As the heart of Los Angeles, this 1.9-square-mile city has led by example by never being afraid to challenge norms and always putting community first. The City of West Hollywood was founded in 1984 when residents came together with a shared vision to protect and nurture the creative community that had long called the area home, including designers, artists, and minorities who shaped its cultural fabric.
Today, that same spirit continues to define West Hollywood as one of the most dynamic destinations in the region. Travelers are drawn to its unmistakable energy, where a world-class culinary scene ranges from Michelin-recognized restaurants to buzzy neighborhood favorites, nightlife spans legendary music venues and cutting-edge clubs, and boutique shopping and wellness experiences line its walkable streets.
At its core, West Hollywood remains a place where everyone is welcome, celebrated for its longstanding commitment to inclusivity and self-expression. This ethos is reflected throughout the city’s hospitality landscape, from a renaissance of new luxury hotels to city-led public art initiatives. In fact, West Hollywood has embedded creativity into its very infrastructure: digital billboards transform into rotating works of art for 15 minutes of every hour, while hotels are required to meet public art thresholds, reinforcing the city’s belief that creativity should be accessible to all.
What’s the most surprising statistic that you like to share about West Hollywood’s tourism impact?
The small size of our city has not stopped the global impact of West Hollywood and travelers’ interest to stay in the heart of L.A. Because of West Hollywood’s unique positioning near the Hollywood Hills, the city has a dynamic array of lifestyle offerings that travelers are attracted to. It is not only California’s most walkable city, based on amenities per square mile, but West Hollywood has recently been designated by LA Magazine as the Wellness Capital of the West Coast, with over 50 wellness offerings per square mile.
When the Michelin Key program first announced its California hotel rating program a few years ago, West Hollywood claimed 10% of all California hotel designations, with just a 1.9 square mile radius. Now, West Hollywood has over 20 hotels to choose from, ranging in price and world-class amenities, welcoming for all travelers, including international markets from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and much of Western Europe. The first-ever Michelin 3-star restaurant for L.A. was announced as Somni West Hollywood. Chef Michael’s Cimarusti was soon announced as the second 3-star, with a sister restaurant, Connie & Ted’s, located in West Hollywood.
In a city known for over-the-top personalities and hype events, what’s the one mark on the calendar year that encapsulates WeHo Pride?
West Hollywood has long had a reputation as the Rainbow District of L.A., offering a variety of community programming and an authentic historical perspective for the LGBTQ+ community. West Hollywood is still the place where the LGBTQ+ community has long come to gather in celebration, advocacy or protest and continues to today.
The new West Hollywood Stories AIDS Monument is a perfect example of this when it was revealed in 2025, incorporating a podium for speeches inside the West Hollywood Park. Throughout the year, the West Hollywood AIDS Monument will host tours and programming in association with the One Gallery/One Institute during the AIDS Walk and WeHo Pride, a 40-day celebration of Pride in its many shapes, from the Dyke March to Arts Festival and the Outloud festival.
Talk about creatives, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival continues its longstanding tradition every October 31st to provide a runway for the amazing showmanship of makeup artists, designers, and fashion innovators to display along Santa Monica Boulevard/Route 66 in West Hollywood.
How does Visit West Hollywood balance being both a tourism destination and a community advocate?
West Hollywood has long been a destination for travelers to share in the same spirit that West Hollywood residents stand on. West Hollywood’s number one market for visitors comes from Palm Springs, and West Hollywood hotels are buzzing when the desert’s festival season is in full swing, hours away in the desert. Creatives, innovators, and thought leaders share in the pillars West Hollywood stands on, and complement the positive work already achieved by city residents.
Supporting local businesses is a hot topic. What initiatives does Visit West Hollywood use to shine a light on small entrepreneurs in WeHo?
Top funnel travel motivators continue to rely on local innovators, and after the pandemic, Visit West Hollywood’s creators campaign highlighted many local entrepreneurs offering world-class experiences to travelers and locals alike. Our partnership with the City of West Hollywood continues with the WeHoLocals.com initiative for resident offers as well as community offers, all from direct support of the City of West Hollywood, and we keep in close touch with the city’s Economic Development department on new openings to promote the West Hollywood travel experience.
What’s the biggest challenge in marketing a place like West Hollywood, particularly in our current politically tumultuous times?
One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that West Hollywood’s values, particularly its longstanding commitment to inclusivity and self-expression, are communicated authentically during politically turbulent times. Located in the heart of L.A., a global cultural capital where social issues are often front and center, West Hollywood is both highly visible and deeply connected to broader conversations happening across the country. The opportunity, and the challenge, is continuing to celebrate what makes West Hollywood special while ensuring that the message resonates with visitors from all walks of life.
Not only is West Hollywood’s hospitality community well-positioned due to our residents’ progressive spirit, but West Hollywood always has something unexpected around every corner. Our city has continuously evolved throughout the decades, at the forefront of culture from the speakeasies during prohibition, the ‘60’s rock n roll wave, the AIDS crisis, and the renaissance of new luxury. Travelers are attracted to the exciting happenings in our city, and Visit West Hollywood’s longstanding international investment has paid off with key markets understanding the values West Hollywood stands on. Key motivations to base your stay in West Hollywood remain, especially for awards season, in addition to the mega series of sporting events coming to Los Angeles.
We hear a lot about investment in the visitor experience. What’s something exciting on the horizon?
There is so much in the pipeline for restaurant, showroom, and gallery openings, but Visit West Hollywood is particularly excited about the forthcoming opening of the PUBLIC Hotel, standing on the motto of “luxury for all,” brought by the same team as the West Hollywood EDITION. The PUBLIC hotel will take over the original Standard Hotel building in 2026. This, alongside the 2025 launch of the Sun Rose Hotel, shifting from the Pendry branding as an independent property leading in entertainment from its Live at Sun Rose music venue, as well as the neighboring Mondrian hotel metamorphosis as well. Keep an eye out for The Now, unveiling a Japanese food hall in addition to welcoming the global footprint of Sushi Samba, the expansion of Pura Vita to the Sunset Strip, and Laurel Hardware’s beautifully designed Laurel Supply.
Can you share with our readers a not-so-well-known fact about West Hollywood?
West Hollywood first unveiled to the United States the career of Elton John as well as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Pinkberry launched in West Hollywood, and so did Barry’s. Did you know the Chinese chicken salad and the Moscow Mule also came from West Hollywood?
Keep an eye out for a forthcoming documentary from the Sunset Marquis hotel called If These Walls Could Rock, with celebrity stories that pull back the curtain on the drugs, sex and rock ‘ n ‘ roll scene at the hotel. Jonny D’Amico’s Rock-N-Walk tour departs nightly, showcasing many of the salacious stories of West Hollywood hidden in plain sight.
From your perspective, what makes the local LGBTQ+ business community uniquely resilient and essential to West Hollywood’s identity?
A quick look at the history of the LGBTQ+ community on the West Coast, you will find West Hollywood leading since the start. Local residents support their own community and, over the years, have attracted a worldwide promotional outlet, thanks to West Hollywood’s proximity to celebrities living nearby in the Hollywood Hills.
As a communications pioneer, how do you balance celebrating what’s iconic about WeHo while still pushing for innovation and inclusivity?
Through all of Visit West Hollywood’s marketing efforts, we rely on a pillar to welcome all to have freedom of heart. Come as you are, and feel the unmistakable spirit and energy of West Hollywood throughout the year.
Iconic, innovation, and inclusivity all complement each other in West Hollywood. You can’t talk about inclusivity or innovation without talking about West Hollywood’s iconic and unmistakable impact. Historic overlay zones keep West Hollywood stories alive for walking tours and city exploration. Part of what makes West Hollywood iconic is the welcoming and inclusive ethos to try something new and to innovate. Look how it turned out for Elton John, The Eagles, The Doors, not to mention The Troubadour, The Abbey, The Roxy, the Whisky a Go Go, the Comedy Store, and so many more.
What’s one piece of advice you’d dish out to someone who wants to show up for West Hollywood, whether they’re supporting small businesses, attending events, or just exploring the city for their first time?
Start with what excites you and let West Hollywood build the experience around that. Whether you’re showing up for incredible food, design, relaxing wellness, nightlife, or just a great walkable day exploring, West Hollywood really does have something for everyone. We recently launched a new AI-powered VisitWestHollywood.com that helps visitors customize their experience based on their interests. If you’re a foodie, it can point you toward the city’s standout restaurants. If you’re into nightlife or live music, it will guide you to the best spots. And if shopping or design is your thing, it will lead you straight to the Design District.
West Hollywood may only be 1.9 square miles, but each of West Hollywood’s neighborhoods maintain a unique personality: from the iconic Sunset Strip, to the inclusive Rainbow District along Route 66/Santa Monica Boulevard, to the eclectic and innovative Design District. My advice is to lean into what you love and explore from there. And of course, take advantage of programs like WeHo Loves Locals, which makes it even easier to support the incredible small businesses that make this city so special.
Visit West Hollywood has been a long-time sponsor for LA Blade’s Best of LA Awards, continuing this year.
Features
From brownstones to beachfronts: Jed Inductivo shares on his real estate journey
Jed Inductivo brings Brooklyn edge, island empathy, and West Coast ambition to every deal, all while advocating for LGBTQ+ equity in homeownership.
From the brownstone-lined blocks of pre-gentrified Brooklyn to the sunlit shores of the Pacific, Jed Inductivo’s story is one of equal parts reinvention and determination. Long before Brooklyn became an Instagram filter, it was a place that sharpened his instincts and taught him how to read a room before the room even knew it was being read. Now firmly repotted and rooted in LA and thriving at Compass Sunset Strip, Inductivo embodies the best of both the East and West Coasts. He approaches his real estate game as the deeply human experience that it is.
Whether he’s guiding first-time buyers to “decide into” the market, protecting or championing equity as President of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance Los Angeles chapter, Inductivo shows up as not just an agent but a connector and community builder. In an industry totes obsessed with numbers, Jed Inductivo proves that the best deals are built not just on square footage but on trust.
From Brooklyn to Honolulu to Los Angeles. How did your journey across coasts impact who you are today and your approach to the real estate game?
Growing up in Brooklyn before it was trendy gave me grit, street smarts, and the ability to read a room fast. You had to think on your feet and assess situations quickly, and that instinct still serves me in high-stakes real estate negotiations.
Honolulu was a completely different chapter, and where I truly grew up professionally. I moved there to open Nobu Waikiki (following a Cornell College crush), and hospitality at that level, rooted in the aloha spirit, taught me warmth, anticipation, and how to understand a client’s needs before they articulate them. Running large teams in luxury hospitality during high-pressure moments sharpened my leadership, coaching, and problem-solving skills.
Los Angeles feels like the perfect blend of both worlds. It’s dynamic and ambitious like New York, but with the pace and light of Hawaii. That combination mirrors how I show up: gritty yet gracious, strategic yet empathetic. Real estate is a service industry – just a very expensive and emotional one – and I bring all of those life experiences to my clients as a trusted advisor, counselor, problem solver, experience maker, and sometimes even what I call a “FRIENT.”
You famously turned your own rental regrets into a mission for others. What’s the biggest insight you tell first-time home buyers to help them avoid experiencing similar mistakes?
In my 20s, I was making good money but didn’t have the financial literacy or long-term strategy I have now – and if I did, I’d probably be a financially free millionaire by this point. That regret fuels my mission. I truly believe that even in a pricey city like Los Angeles, homeownership is possible, but it requires intention and a strategic plan.
The biggest insight I share with first-time buyers is this: don’t drift into the market, decide into it. That’s why I start with what I call a VIP – a Vision & Initial Possibilities meeting – which is step one in becoming a homeowner. It’s where we map out a bespoke strategy based on your current situation. Maybe you’re ready in three months, maybe it’s three years or more. Both are valid. What matters is that you’re no longer guessing; you’re building a plan.
At Compass Sunset Strip, you’ve assisted all kinds of folks, from first-timers to investors and everyone in between. What’s one story that rekindled your ambition for real estate?
As cheesy as it may sound, I genuinely care. I like sleeping well at night, which means I’m truly client-first, even when that means advising someone not to list their home or not to buy a property that could become a financial strain later. Real estate is a multi-sport endeavor, and you’re only as strong as your weakest player, so I’ve intentionally built a network of trusted partners – lenders, escrow officers, inspectors – who share that same integrity-driven philosophy, because one bad actor can derail everything.
I think of a client from the LGBTQ+ community whose dominant language was Spanish; before meeting me, he’d been working with a predatory lender and an agent who weren’t honest about what he could realistically afford. Thankfully, that deal fell apart. When he came to me, we built a strategic plan around the neighborhoods he loved, a monthly payment he felt confident with, and a down payment that protected his savings, which meant waiting about six months. By month seven, he secured a beautiful condo with a low HOA, becoming the first homeowner in his family, and today that home holds his dog, his partner, and his adopted child. Those are the moments that remind me why this work matters.
How do you maintain authenticity and personality in an industry that’s often focused on numbers and contracts?
Early on, I was fortunate to be mentored by a top-producing agent in the Palisades who built her entire 30+ year career on relationships, not cold leads or chasing strangers, but referrals from clients who trusted her deeply. That philosophy stuck with me. I’ve taken it even further by operating from abundance: not everyone is my client, and that’s okay. Some people are probably better served by another agent.
The clearer I’ve become about my values, the more aligned clients I attract, and frankly, the more enjoyable and successful the experience is for everyone. I host quarterly events rooted in my real interests – a Vision Board party, a holiday white elephant book swap, a dog adoption happy hour – because community matters to me.
A brilliant colleague once told me, “If you don’t show up as yourself, how will people find you?” I’d rather be fully seen by the right people than vaguely visible to everyone. In an industry driven by contracts and numbers, relationships are still the real currency, and authenticity compounds.
You are President of the Los Angeles chapter of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. What was your impetus to step into this leadership role?
It’s truly been an honor to step into this role. The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is both a fair housing advocacy organization and a professional network that includes not just agents, but lenders, escrow officers, and other industry partners, all committed to better serving our community.
About a year and a half ago, the LA chapter had been disbanded, and at a national conference, a former national president approached me about the opportunity to revive it. I saw it as a chance to bring together like-minded professionals – both members of the community and strong allies – to elevate standards, increase awareness around fair housing, and better equip ourselves to help LGBTQ+ individuals and families become homeowners.
While we’re still rebuilding, forming a governing board from scratch and laying a new foundation has been incredibly meaningful. Leadership, to me, is about creating access and opportunity – and helping make homeownership a true reality for our community, not just an aspiration.
The Alliance started in 2020 to champion homeownership while fighting housing discrimination. What is the biggest obstacle you have witnessed in housing equity for LGBTQ+ folks?
While we’re fortunate in Los Angeles to live in a relatively progressive bubble, housing discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals is still very real across the country – in some states, contracts can quietly fall apart once a seller discovers a buyer is part of our community.
Even here in LA, where discrimination may be less blatant, it still happens in more subtle ways. I’ve seen our trans community face some of the greatest obstacles, particularly because a real estate transaction involves so many vendors – lenders, escrow officers, title reps – and not all of them understand or take the time to respectfully navigate issues around names, gender markers, and identity documentation. That lack of awareness can create unnecessary stress in an already high-stakes process.
The solution is education and alignment – building a trusted network of professionals who approach every transaction with dignity, clarity, and empathy. Through the Alliance, we’re committed to ensuring members of our community feel informed, respected, and empowered to move through homeownership with confidence and pride.
For folks not too familiar with the Alliance’s work, can you paint a picture of what your particular chapter is actively accomplishing in Los Angeles?
Even in a progressive city like Los Angeles, housing equity for LGBTQ+ people is not a solved issue. California has stronger protections than many states, but recent rhetoric, including Governor Newsom’s comment that Democrats should be “more culturally normal” and focus less on pronouns and identity politics, shows how quickly conversations can unintentionally marginalize our community, even when the intent may be broader appeal.
Nationally, LGBTQ+ homeownership rates sit around 51% compared to roughly 71% for straight, cisgender households, a nearly 20-point gap that reflects systemic barriers, distrust, and lack of tailored education. Our LA chapter is focused on closing that gap by making homeownership feel accessible, informed, and affirming. We host LGBTQ+-friendly homebuyer workshops, connect people to inclusive lenders and vendors, and educate our community about down payment assistance programs, grants that can reach up to $85,000, and California programs like Dream for All that can help with up to 20% of a down payment. Our goal is simple but powerful: if someone raises their hand to build wealth – maybe even achieve early retirement or generational stability – we want to be the trusted resource that helps them do it with dignity, clarity, and confidence.
Can you spotlight for us one initiative that you’re most enthusiastic about, whether advocacy, education, community engagement, or other?
One initiative I’m especially enthusiastic about is creating a comprehensive LGBTQ+ real estate resource guide – both digital and print – featuring trusted, vetted, affirming vendors across every stage of the transaction, from lenders and escrow officers to inspectors and estate planners. Buying a home involves a full ecosystem of professionals, and we want our community to know exactly where to turn for respect and understanding.
Alongside that, we’re developing a Homebuying 101 guide designed to demystify the process and give people a confident starting point toward ownership. We also host quarterly “lunch and learns” led by industry leaders focused on best practices for serving LGBTQ+ clients – not just how to help them buy, but how to protect and preserve that asset long term. For me, it’s about education, alignment, and empowerment – making sure our community isn’t just participating in homeownership, but thriving in it.
Looking into the near future, what is one intention or objective you have in mind for LA’s chapter of the Alliance?
My intention for this year is growth, both in visibility and in impact. We’re rebuilding an already incredible community of professionals who genuinely care about equity and ethical service, and I want more people to know who they are and what they stand for. That means increasing exposure through publications like yours, showing up at major community events like WeHo Pride, and building partnerships with organizations such as the Laurel Foundation.
We’re also being more intentional about engaging political constituents and local leaders so that housing equity for our community remains part of the broader civic conversation. For me, it’s about expanding the table – bringing more voices, more allies, and more resources into the room – so the Alliance becomes not just a professional network, but a visible, trusted pillar within Los Angeles.
If you could instill a touch of hope in aspiring homeowners regardless of who they are or where they are coming from, what would you tell them?
You can do it, I truly believe that. No matter who you are or where you’re starting from, homeownership is possible. It may not be today, or three months from now, or even three years from now, but with a clear plan and the right guidance, it’s absolutely achievable.
Homeownership is far more attainable than many people think, especially when you have advisors who care more about your long-term stability than a single transaction. There are some incredible client-first agents out there, but if you’re not sure where to start, you now know at least one, and I’d genuinely be happy to help. Until then, happy house hunting, and may the keys be ever in your favor.
Features
What’s next for “local hero” and longtime queer ally Genevieve Morrill
Morrill served 15 defining years on WeHo’s Chamber of Commerce. We discuss her future and how queer advocacy can’t be ignored in her legacy.
It’s Feb. 4 when I sit down to call Genevieve Morrill, only a week after she officially stepped away from her longtime role as president and CEO of West Hollywood’s Chamber of Commerce. For 15 years, she paved the way for the City’s business ecosystem: creating robust opportunities for business owners and championing their rights.
Her leadership style has always been defined by forward-thinking, ambitious, and collectively-driven change. “I’m not here to tell you how to lead,” Morrill told the Blade. “I’m here to lead with you.” This focus on inclusivity and community empowerment stretched into advocacy for marginalized community members. From early on, Morrill has been a strong ally for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people, creating pathways for diverse leaders and business owners.
Today, we dive into Morrill’s legacy of queer advocacy: one that has earned her this year’s “Local Hero” award at the upcoming Los Angeles Blade’s Best of LA Awards on Mar. 26.
Uplifting queer and trans people in the business sector
In West Hollywood, and Los Angeles more broadly, Morrill is known for her dedication to shaping and revitalizing dormant spaces. The Chamber was “in trouble” when the board asked her to take over leadership in 2010. They were struggling under the pressure of the recession, and the next steps looked risky and obfuscated. Morrill readily accepted the challenge, her internal armor strengthened by a childhood that was always on the move.
Morrill’s father was a Methodist minister and would often move the family around to take part in “community development work” across the globe. She felt propelled by a sense of duty and mission from a young age. “It’s kind of in my DNA… [I grew up] in an organization that was focused on caring for the world,” Morrill said, who also attributed her strong sense of justice and community-oriented service to her parents’ involvement in civil rights and the women’s movement.
Her responsibility to the people led to major reforms at the Chamber of Commerce: the board tripled its budget, increased membership by 20%, and created widespread visibility for small businesses across West Hollywood. Under her guidance, the Chamber also established a small business task force as well as its philanthropic Small Business Foundation: an organization dedicated to expanding opportunities and providing training for queer and BIPOC business owners, as well as other minority community members.
This all sprouted from Morrill’s keen eye: while immersing herself deeply in the beast of WeHo’s business ecosystem, she observed the lack of initiative employers would take when it came to hiring and empowering trans and queer workers. She began collaborating with Drian Juarez, then the vice president of programming at Trans Can Work: a local workforce development organization that supports transgender and gender nonconforming people.
In the early 2010s, Morrill and Juarez hosted their first seminar together, where fewer than 10 people attended. “It was a real challenge to get people there,” Morrill said, who explained to the Blade that, even a decade ago, business owners were hesitant to adapt queer inclusivity into their branding. Queer stigma continued to be rampant and widespread.
Morrill refused to accept this. For the next seminar focused on trans people in the workplace, she called various local businesses and pushed them to attend. “You need to get there,” she recounted, remembering that her tone was urgent and stern. Over 50 people attended this second seminar. She recalls this early foray into queer advocacy as one of her many “significant” achievements.
These workshops then formed into a steady program: WeLead Academy, a professional development opportunity that uplifts queer and BIPOC entrepreneurs. Over two months, participants learn about money management, leveraging technological advancement for business growth, collaborating within the community, navigating government systems, and other essential business skills. It is powered through the Chamber’s Small Business Foundation.
In her years of service to West Hollywood, Morrill set a precedent for this expansion of inclusivity: to ensure that the City’s wide, varied fabric of people felt represented and capable of unlocking success. Morrill also recognizes that the spaces around us are ever-changing, and rather than stay locked in old ways, she questions: how can we preserve the spirit and histories of our environment, while allowing for growth that takes us to a more equitable future?
She reflects on older conversations she had with the late LGBTQ+ rights activist Ivy Bottini, where they would often discuss the loss of lesbian and sapphic sanctuaries. Even within queer spaces, there is still a need to constantly recalibrate and think about who we’re leaving out of the conversation. But Morrill thinks about these dilemmas with hope and continues to stand in solidarity with the queer communities “being attacked and trying to be erased” right now.
What’s next for Morrill?
This new chapter ahead is marked by bittersweet excitement. On leaving the Chamber, Morrill explained that, as hard as it is to “break off” from these 15 memorable years and the space that defined her community work, it’s a necessary change.
This has been her whole life, up until now. “[When I] was asked if I was still going to leave at the end of 2025, my heart said no,” Morrill said. “But out of my mouth came: yes. I think my heart is still here in West Hollywood [and] with all the businesses…I know there’s still a need for somebody to defend and fight for them.” Morrill’s successor is Len Lanzi, whom Morrill trusts will lead the Chamber well in its next era.
A return to the arts?
When I ask Morrill what the future looks like ahead, she is unsure but excitedly brings up an old passion project: a nonprofit she started in 2007, called “Books with Feet.” The concept is rooted in her core love for theater, books, and the arts: classic short stories are performed so that every single word, even in narration, is performed with exciting and dynamic movement.
Here, Morrill directed stories on the stage: a place she found success in during her adolescence. She recounts performing in a hit show in Chicago and giving it her all during its 14-week run. She studied under acting legends in the 1980s, before beginning to coach students herself.
“I think what happened for me was I didn’t really have a desire to hit the pavement with my headshot,” Morrill said. “But I had a desire to continue to be immersed in the arts.” So she ran Books with Feet until 2011, when it became impossible to manage both this and her Chamber role. “So, I might get back to that. Who knows?” Morrill said.
As we talk more, her entrepreneurial, innovative spirit springs forward, ripe with possibility. She discusses the possibility of creating cultural hubs across the county, revamping “dumpy” abandoned theaters and transforming them into lively arts districts of their own. “I feel like the strings have been cut,” Morrill said, of this new liberating freedom she feels for her path ahead. “As that happens, more space will open up for me [and] that will help me understand what the universe is going to present to me.”
Celebrate Morrill with the Blade at our upcoming Best of LA Awards on Mar. 26, held at the Abbey in West Hollywood. More information can be found here.
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Features
From the Desk of AJSOCAL: How the QTAPI community celebrates Lunar New Year
Our queer and trans Asian Pacific Islander siblings are celebrating the new year on Feb. 17, channeling chosen family, new traditions and the transformative power of the Fire Horse. Read how various local advocates are finding power and community in this time.
For many, the New Year starts on January 1st, but for some in the queer and trans Asian Pacific Islander (QTAPI) community, the new year begins in the middle of February. For many in the larger AAPI community, celebrations of the Lunar New Year mark the start of spring, bringing families together through reconnection, traditions, and shared meals.
Lunar New Year is a time when folks usually celebrate with family, but as LGBTQ+ folks, many of us have found a home or a safe space with our chosen families instead. As a result, we include traditions that are inherently “QTAPI,” blending our LGBTQ+ identities and our AAPI heritage. Today, we are highlighting a few diverse community leaders from our QTAPI community and how they are planning to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse later this month.
For Chinese astrology enthusiasts, the last Year of the Fire Horse was observed in 1966, marking a generational return of passionate, expansive possibility and intense reconstruction and manifestation in 2026. If there’s a year to be brave and be intentional, the time is now – it’s not in the face of an oppressive government trying to deprive us of our futures.
Civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) spoke with various QTAPI community leaders and allies about how they celebrate and renew the Lunar New Year through a queer and trans lens.
Viki Goto is the Board co-president of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley API Chapter, an organization that supports AAPI families with LGBTQ+ children.
Kay P. is a parent involved with PFLAG San Gabriel Valley API Chapter.
Maria Do is the Community Mobilization Manager for the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Kathy Khommarath is the Institutional Giving Manager at AJSOCAL.
Marshall Wong previously served as the principal author of Los Angeles County’s Human Relations Commission’s annual hate crime report, and spearheaded the queer and trans AAPI organization API Equality-LA, which was rebranded as Moonbow before its disbandment in 2025.
What does Lunar New Year mean to you?
Goto: Lunar New Year was always about eating good food for me. [But] once I learned more about the traditions and the history behind them, I realized that the Lunar New Year’s importance has expanded as a representation of Asian cultural heritage. As more communities across Southern California host festivals, parades, and educational events, a greater sense of belonging and appreciation for our unique stories is fostered among people with different cultural backgrounds. This is vital to creating an inclusive and affirming society where everyone is encouraged to be their authentic selves.P.: Growing up in a mostly white community in the Philadelphia suburbs, I didn’t know about Lunar New Year. It really wasn’t until I moved to California and saw that it was celebrated in my children’s schools that I felt that it was a real holiday, and it felt good to be represented. [It’s] a recognition of me and my Asian American community.
Do: Lunar New Year is traditionally a holiday spent with family. For me, this includes chosen family. While the turn of a new calendar year is often viewed as a time for personal reflection and goal setting, the Lunar New Year offers a chance to set those intentions with one’s community. It’s a celebration that is deeply hopeful, which is why I always look forward to it every year.
Khommarath: While I don’t personally celebrate Lunar New Year because I am Lao American, I deeply respect the holiday and the way many Asian communities mark it as a time of renewal and connection. In Lao culture, our major new year celebration is Pi Mai, or Lao New Year, which takes place in April. Even though the timing and customs differ, the spirit behind Lunar New Year feels intimately familiar. Both Lunar New Year and Lao New Year are centered on renewal, community, cleansing away the past year, and entering the new one with intention and joy.
Wong: The Lunar New Year is the most important celebration for two billion Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese people, and many other communities worldwide. It is a time for families and friends to come together to wish one another luck, prosperity, and progress in the coming year. Growing up, it was a time for beloved traditions, like parades, lion dances, firecrackers, special foods, and red envelopes containing lucky money for children. For many people, it involves rituals of ancestral worship, deep cleaning of homes to signify new beginnings, displaying decorations, and wearing special clothes.
How do you celebrate your QTAPI identity?
Goto: As part of the PFLAG San Gabriel Valley Asian Pacific Islander chapter, I’ve marched in the Golden Dragon Parade for the last several years in Chinatown as part of the Asian Pacific Islander Rainbow Coalition (ARC) contingent. ARC is a group of API LGBTQ-serving organizations that work to advance LGBTQ+ equality in the Asian Pacific Islander community and to support our LGBTQ+ friends and families through education, community organizing, and advocacy.
We have been so fortunate to help carry VROC’s (Viet Rainbow of Orange County) rainbow- and TGI-colored dragons in the parade. It’s an amazing feeling to see the faces of people in the crowd light up as we pass by and to hear them cheering and popping firecrackers. We frequently have people run into the street to take a picture with us. One of our founding PFLAG members is a crowd favorite with his “I Love My Gay Son” sign!
P.: We attend monthly API PFLAG meetings and visit with our community there.
Do: This year, I am honored to be helping co-produce HOTPOT’s Lunar New Year special event, Year of the Horse, with my dear friend and HOTPOT’s founder, Jordyn Sun. It will take place on Friday, February 20, at Apt 503. I will be one of the hosts, so feel free to stop by, say hi, and celebrate with us!
I will also be joining VietROC for their Tết festival in Orange County on February 13 and marching with the entire collective of QTAPI orgs at the Golden Dragon parade on February 21.
That said, every day is technically a celebration as a person existing at the intersection of being queer and Asian. Finding and welcoming other people in the queer Asian diaspora here in Southern California has helped me become more proud of who I am and where I belong!
Khommarath: Although I’m bisexual, I often move through the world as straight-passing because my spouse is a cis man and we’re raising our three visibly cis boys (as far as we know for now?). That visibility gap has pushed me to be intentional about how I honor my QTAPI identity — not just privately, but in ways that stay connected to community, culture, and the experiences that helped me understand who I am.
In fact, I didn’t fully embrace my bisexual identity until I started working as a community organizer at API Equality-LA. I had just graduated from LMU and was suddenly surrounded by queer and trans API individuals, leaders, and organizers who created a space where I felt safe, seen, and able to name parts of myself I had never had the language or community support to articulate. Being in that environment, being held by people who lived their truths so openly, helped me embrace mine. Those years were foundational. They shaped not only my politics and career but also my understanding of self, belonging, and pride.
Becoming a parent changed how I could show up in those spaces. I had to step back from the day-to-day organizing and intense participation to focus on the kiddos. But I’ve worked to make sure my QTAPI identity doesn’t fade just because my life looks “straight” from the outside. I celebrate in ways that fit the life I have now.
A lot of those celebrations look like family-centered rituals that connect my children to queer Asian American community spaces. For example, I’ve taken them (and intend to take them this year!) to the Golden Dragon Parade during Los Angeles Chinatown’s Lunar New Year celebration. These events include queer API groups marching or organizing, and being there with my children feels like bringing together the multiple communities that raised me and my identity. It’s a way of showing them that our cultures are vibrant and diverse, and that queer stories are part of our family’s and community’s fabric.
So, while I’m not celebrating in the same ways I did when I was younger (e.g., late-night meetings, rallies, coalition convenings, organizing 1:1 conversations, marches), I continue to celebrate my QTAPI identity through community events, storytelling, and the values that shaped me. I’m raising my children to understand, honor, and take pride in that part of me, too.
Wong: In 2006, a brand-new organization, API Equality-LA, mobilized the first LGBTQ+ contingent in the annual Lunar New Year parade in Los Angeles Chinatown. Over the years, our group grew into the largest contingent in the parade, drawing as many as 200 participants. This occurred against the backdrop of the fight for marriage equality and was a powerful symbol of growing support for LGBTQ+ visibility, inclusion, and civil rights in the API community. The annual tradition ended in 2021 because of the pandemic, and we have only revived our contingent during the past two years.
On a more personal note, over the years, I have hosted numerous birthday/theater parties at the East West Players, the largest and longest-running Asian American Theater in the nation, and a space that has nurtured many Asian LGBTQ+ performers, writers, directors and other artists.
How do you celebrate with your chosen family and/or your community?
Goto: The members of PFLAG SGV API are my chosen family and we usually pass out lucky red envelopes at our monthly support meeting prior to the Lunar New Year. We also table at as many festivals as we can to ensure our visibility in the API community and to distribute educational information, such as affirming language that families can use when their child shares their identity with them. We want to be a culturally respectful resource and provide non-judgmental support in a comfortable environment to API folks, no matter where they are along their journey.
P.: We enjoy food (often dim sum!) with our family and friends.
Do: I celebrate with my community and chosen family by getting politically engaged. Given fascism’s rise, it is crucial now more than ever to not only express our joy with chosen family as a form of resistance but to use that joy to fuel our community-building efforts. Whether that is organizing donations for mutual aid, sharing legal resources for our neighbors and friends, volunteering at a food distribution, or educating folks on how to take direct action, I see our collective efforts as a celebration in itself.
Wong: For most of my life, I would look forward to celebrating the Lunar New Year over a Chinese banquet with my family. Now that most members of my birth family have passed on, I have been gathering each year for a special meal with other API LGBTQ+ activists and allies. Coming together has been especially important given recent events (COVID, spikes in anti-Asian violence, horrific fires, ICE raids and attacks on trans rights) that have caused so much anxiety and suffering.
What are you hopeful for in the upcoming year of the Fire Horse?
Goto: I am hopeful that the beloved community coalitions that have come together over the last few years will continue to grow, gain momentum, and change the world!
P.: I hope for drastic change in the current trend toward negative legislation against trans persons. Trans people are just living their lives like the rest of us. Just because some are uncomfortable around them is not a reason to interfere with their lives. Rather, we should be getting to know those who are different and understanding each other better.
Do: Currently, I am working as the Community Mobilization Manager at the LA LGBT Center. I help activate community members to participate in a variety of actions ranging from phone banks to postcard actions, from door-to-door GOTV canvassing to legislative visits, and from rallying in the streets to making public comments with city and county officials.
The purpose of mobilizing is to make our voices heard, express urgency around a variety of LGBTQ+ issues, and spark transformative change. In our tumultuous present, I am hopeful that this year will give me the confidence to fuse my experience in organizing within LGBTQ+ spaces and my interests in other spaces that more directly address the wealth, equity, and access concerns of our broader community. In other words, I am hoping to harness the Fire Horse energy to strengthen existing and nascent solidarities across Los Angeles.
Khommarath: With the Fire Horse symbolizing bold movement, passion, and transformation, I’m hopeful for a year where I embrace more intentional risk-taking — not the reckless kind, but the kind that clears space for growth. I’ve spent so much of my adult life balancing responsibility, care, and community, and this year, I want to make room for creativity, curiosity, and the type of ambition that feels aligned rather than overwhelming.
I’m looking forward to exploring new ways of showing up in my communities and for my family and allowing myself to pursue things that energize me instead of defaulting to what feels safest or most expected. If the Fire Hose encourages anything, it’s to trust momentum when it arrives.
Immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color are facing instability, fear, and targeted harm right now. It feels like every week brings another policy change, wave of rhetoric, or reminder of how urgently our communities need and deserve safety and dignity.
I’m hopeful for the capacity to stay GROUNDED — to remain connected to community struggles while being fully present with my children, modeling courage without losing softness. If the Fire Horse urges us toward boldness, then my hope is the channel that boldness into clarity and choosing when to act, when to rest, and how to hold both responsibility and joy at the same time.
Wong: As justice-loving people, it is easy to become paralyzed with anxiety and hopelessness given the enormity of the challenges we face today. But we have to remember: It is always darkest before the dawn. Courage does not mean lack of fear. It means acting decisively in spite of fear. May we find strength and comfort through collective action in the Year of the Horse.
Read more about each advocate and community worker by clicking the links above, and join them as they march at the upcoming 127th annual Golden Dragon Parade on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 1-4 p.m. in Los Angeles Chinatown. The Blade will be joining AJSOCAL on the route.
Jeffrey Deguia, LA Regional Policy Advocate at Asian Americans Advancing Justice SoCal, with contributions from LA Blade reporter Kristie Song, has curated this article.
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
Features
LGBTQ+ legal hero Jon Davidson hands civil rights torch to new generation
Davidson shares successful AIDS, GSA, and Asylum cases. As well as being in a polyamorous relationship.
There are heroes among us in this violent struggle against the demented but planned tyranny of Donald Trump. In cities large and small and rural regions across America, including Los Angeles, “We the People” are standing up, walking out, marching, holding signs, and blowing whistles to bravely fight for our neighbors, our freedom, the US Constitution, and plain old fairness and human decency.
But for some of us, that fight has been existential for decades – as illustrated through the LGBTQ+ and other Smithsonian Institution historical exhibits Trump wants to hide and erase to make America way more White Supremacist again. (Please see this video to better understand our history and Trump’s promise to “decisively win the culture wars.”)
That’s why it feels like such a loss when a hero leaves or steps back, even for the most logical and human reasons.
Gay attorney Jon Davidson has been such a hero, a leader among the brightest of our warriors, using his humanity, skills, and acumen to fight against inculcated oppression and achieve real progress toward first-class citizenship.
“It’s impossible to describe how much our movement owes Jon Davidson,” Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart said in 2010 after Jon received the prestigious Dan Bradley Award, the National LGBT Bar Association’s highest honor.
Recently, Jon announced that he is retiring, which – given our tumultuous republic – seems like awful timing. “I’m 70 years old. I’ve been doing LGBTQ civil rights work for 40 years,” he shared during a comfortable Zoom interview on Jan. 28.
“I was a partner in a big Los Angeles law firm [Irell & Manella]; left to go to the ACLU of Southern California; then went to Lambda Legal, where I was for 22 years; then went to Freedom for All Americans, where I was doing lobbying trying to get the Equality Act passed; and then the national ACLU, where I’ve been for the last 4 years,” he says, pausing briefly.
“I really have started to feel like it’s time to let others lead – to get other voices out there and other ideas, especially from younger people, from trans and non-binary people, from people of color. And sometimes that means stepping aside,” Jon continues. “The thing that makes me feel okay about it is I’ve worked with a lot of those people, and I have tremendous confidence that they can do the best job that possibly can be done….None of us is irreplaceable.”
And, Jon adds, “even though I’m stepping down from paid positions, and I’m planning to take some time to take a rest and do the things that I never had time to do.… I doubt I’m really stepping away in the long term and that I will find other ways to contribute without being a full-time working civil rights lawyer.”
He’s keenly aware that resistance is needed.
“It’s a very scary time right now, no question. It’s probably the most frightening period of my long life,” Jon says. “Trump is an ego-driven, unbalanced, narcissist, erratic, mean-spirited, fungus, thin-skinned, vindictive, arrogant, corrupt….It’s hard to come up with enough adjectives. But mostly cruel, racist, sexist, transphobic wanna-be dictator….I guess the solace I take from the current period is the extent to which people are protesting.”
It’s not just the legal victories or the cases in which he was co-counsel or a thoughtful coach who will be missed. It’s the example Jon sets as a gay man. He emanates a deep secular/spiritual commitment to justice. He listens to everyone, regardless of class or position, embodying the old saying, “listening is an act of love.” And then he tries to find a way to help.
Jon didn’t just leave Irell & Manella, where he worked in the media and entertainment division after graduating from Stanford University, Yale Law School, and working as an attorney for eight years. He and his best friend, Sharon Hartmann, had convinced the partners to let them represent homeless people pro bono – a new and expensive concept at the time. At Jon’s retirement party, Hartmann said Jon built a team, and three years later, in 1987, they won an award for their pro bono work, and Jon, 29, made partner, which she called a “pretty good beginning.”
In fact, according to an April 7, 1987, LA Times feature entitled: “Repaying Society: Pro Bono: Renaissance in Legal Aid,” Jon “marshalled 34 lawyers, 46 secretaries and paralegals at Century City’s Irell & Manella to join poverty law firms in aiding the homeless on Los Angeles’ Skid Row.”
“Lawyers in private practice get to have a generally fortunate life. They are highly compensated, have a high status, and get a fair amount of deference and respect. Because of all those things, you really owe something,” Jon told The Times. “Part of it is, ‘Gee, this is something I really should be doing.’ But another thing is, I find it very satisfying to think there are certain people I can help.”
Jon left his Big Law Firm’s half-a-million-dollars-a-year salary to become Lesbian and Gay Rights Project Director at ACLU/SoCal under the extraordinary Ramona Ripston for $50,000. Coming out as a “gay rights activist” during Ronald Reagan’s second presidential term and the horrors of the Second Wave of AIDS was a big deal. So was his motivation.
“What initially got me into doing this work was the AIDS epidemic,” Jon tells me during our Zoom conversation. “I had quite a number of people I was close with who were very sick and who were dying. I felt like I was going to funerals every week. And so, even though I was in private law practice, I started doing pro bono work, which means ‘for the good of it’ – but it means ‘not paid,’ also.”
Jon says one of his most important cases was Chalk vs the Orange County Board of Education, a case that got national attention with a slew of other important gay and lesbian attorneys and a slew of amicus briefs, including one from California Attorney General John Van de Kamp.
Vincent Chalk was a beloved certified teacher and Regional Occupational Program coordinator for deaf students at University High and Venado Middle School. In February of 1987, after informing his supervisors that he had AIDS, Chalk was reassigned to an administrative position and barred from teaching. His claim of discrimination and request for an injunction were denied in the district court. Jon worked on his appeal, which they won. The Nov. 24, 1987, LA Times headline read: “AIDS Teacher Returns Amid Hugs, Smiles.”
“It was incredibly important to him to keep working because he found it very satisfying,” Jon says. “We won at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which governs California and other Western states, which established that people living with HIV are protected against discrimination….That started to turn [around] some of what had been people being turned away at restaurants and stores and not getting the medical care they needed. That felt very significant.”
Another “really important” issue was helping make Gay Straight Alliances possible.
“I did several cases, one in Salt Lake City and one in Orange County, in which we got it established that federal law requires schools to allow those clubs to meet if they allow other non-curricular clubs to meet on campus. That really seemed to me important in terms of making it possible for young people to feel like it was okay to be out, to establish connections with other LGBTQ people, and to start to do things to change attitudes at the high school level,” Jon says.
“And there are a number of those clubs right now that meet at the junior high school level. My partner was helping run such a program when he was earning his master’s in social work at a middle school for low-income, principally Latino students,” Jon continues. “So that seemed really important in turning things around.”
But, says Jon, the case that “touched me the most emotionally” was where I represented a man from Mexico who fled to the United States after he was threatened with his life by Mexican police, who assaulted him, stole his clothes, and left him in the middle of the desert. He came to the United States, sought asylum, and was initially denied asylum by an immigration judge who said, ‘Well, you don’t look gay to me. And so, you can go back to Mexico and just don’t make an issue of it, and you should be fine.’”
Jon appealed, and the case was sent back to the same judge, who changed his mind, “in part through the argument that, wait a minute – people who are persecuted in other countries for their religion or their politics are not told, ‘Oh, just don’t make an issue of it. Don’t let other people know.’ Those are grounds for asylum, not for denial of asylum.”
They got a new trial, and the judge granted asylum from the bench. “I walked out with my client, and he started crying and saying, ‘Wait. Does this mean that I get to stay? That I’m not going to be sent back?’ And it was just feeling so directly like you had really turned somebody’s life around. It felt an honor to be able to do that for someone.”
In 2017, Jon unexpectedly left his job as Legal Director at Lambda Legal, working closely with “work wife” Jenny Pizer. He went to Freedom for All Americans as their Chief Counsel, and later, he returned to the ACLU as Senior Counsel at the National ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project.
Camilla Taylor, Deputy Legal Director for Litigation at Lambda Legal when Jon left, wrote an extraordinary tribute, with stories about and links to some of his hundreds of cases.
“If I had a nickel for every time I’ve witnessed JD up at ungodly hours to work, sifting through legal materials and strategizing with his colleagues about how to conquer a problem or action against our community, mastering every minute detail, we could shut down Lambda Legal, colonize Mars, and turn it into the queer utopia of everyone’s dreams.” Taylor wrote.
And that queer utopia includes individuals having the real freedom to determine how they wish to live their lives. Asked why Jon – who helped win marriage equality – has eschewed marriage for himself and his longtime domestic partner, psychotherapist Syd Peterson, Jon says simply: “We won the freedom to marry, not the obligation to marry. And for Syd and me, it was not the way we conceived of our relationship. We always had an open relationship, and certainly some people who are married have. But in more recent years, we’ve had an openly polyamorous relationship.”
But, since he co-drafted with Jenny Pitzer the California Comprehensive Domestic Partnership Law, “I felt some loyalty to it. So that was important to me.”
Jon says he was not open about his relationship with Syd because he anticipated that people would react badly, not understanding how being in a polyamorous relationship worked.
But at some point, the explainer-in-chief came to understand that that was being in the closet again. He felt some responsibility to let people know that it was okay and that it can work for some people, not for everyone. He says he just feels it’s important to fight against the lack of understanding and prejudice.
After giving tips on how to have such a successful, compatible, intergenerational relationship, Jon says, “I must admit – I never really thought we’d be together 21 years.”
“People need to figure out a way to survive,” Jon says in parting. “What I would add is for people not to give up hope – then the other side has surely won.”
Karen Ocamb is a veteran journalist and the former news editor for Frontiers Magazine and the Los Angeles Blade. This essay is cross-posted from her Substack LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters. Please visit that cite to watch her in-depth video conversation with Jon Davidson about LGBTQ+ people and “strict scrutiny,” as well as the LAPD and other issues.
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Liliana T. Pérez-Palacios uplifts BIPOC, immigrant and queer rights with the L.A. Chargers
The L.A. Charger’s Sr. Director of Cultural Affairs talks coming out on national TV and making the local sports space more queer-inclusive.
At an L.A. Chargers game, football fanatics donning powder blue and gold jerseys can be heard crying out: “Bolt up!” as players on the field tackle, run, and charge with an electric energy. People grip their seats, their eyes darting back and forth as they witness a kind of alchemy happening in front of them.
In the midst of this exuberant chaos, Liliana T. Pérez-Palacios mingles with Chargers fans, greeting them excitedly as they celebrate a sport that brings them closer to the community around them. Pérez-Palacios is the team’s Senior Director of Cultural Affairs, and her role allows her to exercise her greatest passion: uniting the city’s diverse tapestry of people and providing them a space to discover joy and belonging.
Growing up: navigating her queerness and activism
Pérez-Palacios’ childhood flitted back and forth between fear and empowerment, the two emotions woven into the fabric of her adolescence. As a toddler, she immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. with her mother, eventually settling in the county’s Pico-Union neighborhood. She remembers the persistent, looming threat of immigration officials and the constant presence of poverty.
But, rather than embed these fears into shame, she learned to translate and transform her struggle into affirmation, power, and self-liberation. “I don’t live by what others think of [or] say about me,” Pérez-Palacios told the Blade. “I need to live my truth, and that’s something that was instilled in me since I was a kid.”
Self-possessed and strong, Pérez-Palacios wanted to turn that courage outward and support other marginalized community members seeking refuge and comfort. As a student at Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN), she developed her passion for social justice, serving in student groups like Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), Strong Queers United in Stopping Heterosexism (SQUISH), and Students Against Apartheid.
“[I was] a young Latino kid, wanting desperately to help people like me feel welcomed and at home,” said Pérez-Palacios, who was inspired by the bold, “in your face” approach that organizations like AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) adopted.
While her deep involvement with activism on campus led her away from her studies, this intense dedication to social justice led to a career in government service beginning in 1995. She served six Speakers for the California State Assembly as well as former California Governor Gray Davis.
Her civic engagement then caught the attention of Mayor Karen Bass in 2023, when she was appointed to be President of El Pueblo de Los Ángeles: a historic district that preserves the county’s Latine roots.
Coming out on national TV
Before these steps into local governance, Pérez-Palacios stepped into the limelight to advance queer visibility, even if it meant risking her closest relationships. She was in her early twenties when she heard that Cristina Saralegui, host of the major daytime Spanish-language talk show “El show de Cristina”, was making a tour stop in L.A. “No one was bigger than Cristina,” Pérez-Palacios recounted, who was determined to appear on the show to discuss the Latine LGBTQ+ community, and how it is impacted by suicidality.
Pérez-Palacios felt it was critical to discuss the mental health crisis amongst queer Latine youth, and came out as queer on the show in a brave display of personal solidarity. “I wanted to make sure that our community was never lost in translation,” she said. “Our lives are impacted by hate. I needed to put a face to it and say: Stop hurting us. We’re your family members too.”
She remembers her own family being shocked: there was the endless stream of opinions they threw at her for being openly queer. Her mother, whom she calls her best friend, “wasn’t ready for it” at the time. Still, Pérez-Palacios understood the gravity of the harm impacting LGBTQ+ people like herself, and this outweighed the potential rejection and ignorance she would receive in her own life.
Her mother came around soon after. “I’m her kid,” Pérez-Palacios said. “Her love is greater than anything else.”
Pérez-Palacios’ approach: creating an “orchestra” versus a “melting pot”
Pérez-Palacios credits her bravery to the importance of honoring the various identities that make up who she is. She fights for women, immigrants, Latine community members, and people impacted by poverty. “We’ve been trained to be ashamed,” Pérez-Palacios said. “[But] there’s no shame. If anything, there’s great pride there. We are communities of resilience and creation. When we don’t have anything, we create something.”
She leads with this ethos as she heads the development of cultural sensitivity and community-building at the L.A. Chargers. She is constantly looking for ways to bring different folks into the space and to help them embrace themselves in the celebration of the sport. The core of her work is being intentional about representing the rich cultural and social histories of L.A.’s eclectic communities: honoring their legacies of resistance, unity, and survival.
Today, she is excited about growing this “footprint” and bringing in more queer folks to the games. She hopes that by making this avenue of her professional career more inclusive, she can motivate the people around her to resist erasure and thrive together in each other’s unique origins and journeys.
“I hate the term, ‘melting pot.’ I do not want to be a melting pot,” Pérez-Palacios said. “I do not want you to be like me. I want us to be a beautiful orchestra. Together, through harmonizing, we create something amazing.”
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
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“We will get through all of this”: Culver City’s first LGBTQ+ Mayor discusses queer community and hope
Freddy Puza shares empowering words for queer youth and discusses his journey through local politics and advocacy.
On Dec. 8, Freddy Puza was elected to be Culver City’s mayor, after a decade of dedicated service to the City. His journey of advocacy began after he moved to Culver City in 2011, when he immediately dove into local social services programs and activism.
In 2016, he banded together with fellow residents to call on Culver City to become a sanctuary city and protect its immigrant community members. In March 2017, its city council adopted a resolution that solidified this call to action. The resolution prohibits law enforcement officials from sharing data and information with immigration authorities.
Puza also volunteered on Culver City’s homelessness and general plan advisory committees before he was elected to the city council in 2022. Now, as mayor, he hopes to deepen his connections with fellow residents and build upon what he’s learned from his journey so far. “Every year that I’ve been on council, I’ve grown into a new person,” Puza told the Blade. “I see how the city and community work in a different way.”
His down-to-earth leadership approach centers on listening and making people feel heard: a feeling he struggled to find during his own coming-of-age. “That’s a lot of the work that I think the city council is responsible for,” Puza said, “We set policy, but we also create and maintain community. I want to make sure that everyone is folded into the process: that it’s an inclusive city, and that people feel like they belong.”
The Blade sat down with Puza to discuss how he first formed queer community and how he hopes to set a precedent for the way local government can stand up for and protect its diverse constituents.
Isolation in faith: growing up without queer community
When Puza was five, his family relocated from the Windy City to the suburban bubble of Irvine, California: sweeping him up in a whirlwind of transition and change. His parents were devoutly Catholic and found solace with other Catholic families. Charity, volunteering, and local involvement were also always emphasized at home, so there was the constant presence of others.
But in the midst of this persistent chatter and noise, Puza was alone. “I grew up in a faith community that wasn’t open to being gay, so it was really challenging to move through that,” Puza told the Blade. “While my friends were doing professional development, I was doing personal development and coming to terms with who I was.”
Throughout Puza’s childhood, LGBTQ+ representation was minimal, if not outright negative. People around him weren’t coming out or having open conversations about their gender or sexuality. Marriage equality hadn’t yet passed, and he was not in proximity to queer scenes and leaders modeling unity and pride as he searched for belonging.
Puza remembers feeling “petrified” at the prospect of being out, and waited to do so in college. He also decided to leave his faith community and focus on his mental health and self-acceptance. This became his turning point. “I think, when you embrace your identity, ‘like attracts like,’” Puza said. “When I came out, all of a sudden, I started to see LGBTQ+ people amongst me and in my environment.”
Culver City was the “Goldilocks” perfect fit
Puza moved to L.A. in 2001, bouncing from Venice to Silver Lake to West Hollywood before landing in what feels like his best fit. “I do consider Culver City the ‘Goldilocks’ [of these neighborhoods]. It’s just right,” Puza said. “It’s just home.”
He first sought out the region for its diversity and vast, boundless sense of opportunity. He joined organizations that focused on LGBTQ+ civil rights and protections like the Human Rights Campaign and Equality California, meeting friends and mentors who brought him more deeply into the local queer community. “It was so essential to have those people that I’m still friends with, who I’m so close with,” Puza said. “All of that combined really got me involved.”
Why Culver City specifically? “It’s a small city relative to Los Angeles, but there’s so much opportunity to get involved with local change,” Puza told the Blade. “Culver City residents get to know their council members, and there’s a lot of activism going on [here].”
Advocating for unhoused residents: Puza’s first foray into local government
When Puza first began volunteering in direct services to support unhoused residents living in Skid Row, he learned about systemic and structural barriers and issues that perpetuate homelessness in the county. This is when he began to understand that problems and solutions are intertwined, and both begin at the local level.
Inspired by the everyday leaders around him, Puza jumped into action and joined Culver City’s homelessness committee in 2015. “Many times, people get frustrated with the government and don’t see it as something that can bring actual change,” Puza said. “So the fact that I was seeing all these community members in Culver City engaging in change and really caring about their neighbors: that compassion moved me.”
Today: Puza’s hopes and aspirations as mayor
Currently, Puza is working with fellow Culver City city officials to build a clear five-year Capital Improvement Plan. This includes setting targets for infrastructural improvement projects as well as increasing housing affordability and sustainability while generating more revenue.
Culver City’s population is expected to double in the next decade or two, and the City remains in a structural deficit. Puza hopes to strategize ways to streamline programs and processes while creating new systems that can get the City “back on track.”
He is also focused on protecting the safety of his community members as fears surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are on the rise, especially with the recent ICE-related murders of Renee Nicole Good and Keith Porter. LGBTQ+ hate crimes are also on the rise, and queer rights are being targeted. Where the federal government fails, local governance and activism are revitalized, Puza says.
“People really do want to see the government deliver tangible things, and local government’s where that is at,” Puza told the Blade. “The federal government is not going to be helpful in the ways that are the most beneficial to community members. I believe in putting care for the individual, uplifting people, and giving them the tools to succeed: not punitive punishment.”
How can community members get involved?
There are many committees to join, as well as several open commission seats, according to Puza. He also encourages residents to directly get in touch with him or attend listening sessions where they can engage in dialogue with him and other community members.
“Those are really valuable opportunities to hear directly, and I want to always be listening to the community,” Puza said. “I want to make sure I’m in alignment with the community, and that the values that I set out with are still what the community and our residents want.”
And for queer youth and other LGBTQ+ people seeking belonging, the way he’d done years before, Puza offers this piece of advice:
“Find community and mentors who can help and guide you. It is a scary time, but I am a cynical optimist. So, I always believe, no matter what’s going on and how terrifying and horrible it is, we will get through all of this. You will make it. It will be tough, but have that strength inside to know yourself. I learned to love, accept and take care of myself, because we can’t give if we’re out of alignment. So really learn about yourself, and then go out there and don’t be afraid.”
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
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“We deserve to have a future here”: How we can support queer AAPI communities in 2026
This week, the Blade sat down with AAPI Queer Joy’s leader Jeff Deguia to reflect on his activism goals in the new year.
AAPI Queer Joy is a queer-led and focused coalition formed by Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) policy advocate Jeff Deguia. In a previous feature, the Blade learned more about Deguia’s activism journey, from his Filipino American upbringing in Chicago to his exuberant, inclusive leadership in Los Angeles. We also interviewed Lan Le, a fellow AJSOCAL policy advocate and AAPI Queer Joy leader who is passionate about supporting other queer refugees and domestic violence survivors.
The coalition currently includes six grassroots civil rights organizations, including: AJSOCAL, Viet Rainbow of Orange County (VROC), the Bay-Area based Lavender Phoenix, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), Moonbow, and Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP).
AAPI Queer Joy formed in 2024, and that initial year was focused on increasing visibility and establishing the coalition’s existence. Last year, in 2025, AAPI Queer Joy began to amp up advocacy efforts, and each organization involved worked together to put together the coalition’s first-ever bill package.
This package included three bills: AB 1487, AB 678, and SB 418, focusing on expanding funding opportunities for two-spirit community members, creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive council on homelessness, and building stronger access to gender affirming care, respectively. The Blade reported on these bills in October.
Deguia found it fulfilling to dive into LGBTQ+ focused legislation and support his coalition members in bringing their advocacy work to the state level. Most of these partner organizations, like Viet Rainbow of Orange County, are hyper-local, aiming their on-the-ground efforts to specific regions.
They’re also small, with teams that often cap out at around 10 staff members. “They’re wearing a lot of hats,” Deguia told the Blade. “So for them to add to their capacity to do advocacy work and understand the importance: I’m grateful to them.”
This week, the Blade sat down with Deguia to reflect on AAPI Queer Joy’s growth in 2025, the challenges they faced, and how he hopes to grow the coalition in 2026.
Challenges AAPI Queer Joy faced in 2025
Deguia explained to the Blade that language access and cultural bridging can be difficult within the AAPI community, especially when it comes to having conversations around being queer with immigrant family members. “[For] certain LGBTQ+ vocabulary, there are no translations in AAPI languages sometimes,” Deguia said.
Tools like Google Translate have their limitations and don’t include the necessary cultural context needed to have sensitive discussions about identity and relationship-building. This often means staff members have to do additional work to translate certain terms and then ask their partner organizations for further support.
“We want to make sure that the LGBTQ+ community will feel understood, but also that their loved ones, their allies, parents, grandparents, and other folks will be like: Oh, this helps me understand what this word would be in language,” Deguia said. “So that’s definitely tough.”
Deguia and this reporter also discussed the concept of being “out” and how that experience is complicated for diasporic people who both live in the West and also belong to a different culture. In some Asian countries, where communal unity is valued over individualistic pride, being “out” should be treated with contextual nuance. Whether or not someone feels comfortable being out, Deguia hopes that community members make their choice through empowerment rather than shame or pressure.
“For AAPI people who are born here or raised here when they’re really young, [the question can be]: How do we make our own way and make sure that we’re living on our terms?,” said Deguia.
“Being out [can be a] proud moment, but understanding the cultural parts of being AAPI and not necessarily being out also has its own importance in the community. And saying that not being out is wrong, or having these really strong opinions on it, is unfair. That’s nuance and lived experience. It’s about cultural balance.”
How does AAPI Queer Joy hope to grow in 2026?
Deguia points to three main goals in this new year: seeking stories and inspiration from community elders, expanding the coalition, and organizing an AAPI Queer Joy event in L.A.
He hopes to lean on elders to better understand the lineage of activism before him, and to carve out a path built on history and imagination. While these elders had no “blueprint” of their own, Deguia hopes to hear their stories as they move towards a shared, intergenerational goal together.
“I’m building upon what has been done before me,” Deguia said. “I think about the folks who had everything set up against them, who believed: ‘I’m trying to get easier for someone after me.’ I’ve gotta understand my history so I can make a better path forward for [those] after me.”
When it comes to growing the coalition, Deguia has inclusivity at the forefront of his mind. He wants to include more partner organizations from the South Asian and Pacific Islander communities, which are often underrepresented in broader conversations around being AAPI.
“I don’t think I can call it AAPI Queer Joy without having reps from every part of that beautiful community,” Deguia said. “I [also] want to make sure that the whole state’s being represented well, like central California, SoCal, NorCal. There are communities that have a voice and want to show up and be in these kinds of conversations.”
To activate these communities, AAPI Queer Joy puts on their annual Jade Jubilee: an event that is both celebratory and productive when it comes to what the coalition has achieved and how they hope to strengthen its advocacy work. Jade Jubilee was organized in Sacramento last year, and Deguia wants to bring something on this scale to L.A. too.
“The QTAPI community in L.A. and Orange County is really rich and diverse,” Deguia said. “I want to showcase that there’s an organization based in L.A. here that is doing this work. I want to engage the community here more.” When thinking about accessibility and engagement, Deguia sees these potential local events as a chance to give friends and community members the tools, knowledge, and joy needed to move forward together.
How can we support AAPI Queer Joy?
Small actions can have large impacts. Deguia mentions the power of sharing the coalition’s social media posts, which often highlight their legislative campaigns and efforts, as well as supporting its partner organizations. There are grassroots groups out there who are connecting like-minded people: seek them out as a first step.
From there, you can learn about attending events and rallies, and understand the importance of individual efforts like calling representatives (which can also be done in community!) to voice your concerns and perspectives. Many of these local organizations provide scripts and workshops to ease fears and anxieties around these actions.
And, whenever possible, don’t turn away. It is demoralizing to see the constant threats to LGBTQ+ safety and rights, and the constant attempts to self-soothe are exhausting. But now, more than ever, it is necessary to understand what is happening around us and how we can empower one another with support, knowledge, and resistance. “If we turn our backs completely, forget and just live in our privilege, one day we’re gonna wake up, and things will be gone,” Deguia said.
Deguia: Being resilient and brave is something I wish we didn’t have to do all the time as queer folks, but [this moment] is asking for that. In a country and administration that’s telling us that we don’t have a right to exist, we have to be brave and tell them and show them that we deserve to be here like everybody else.
At the core of all the pain and all the fear, the core in our heart [has to be]: “I deserve to be here. I deserve to have a future here. My friends deserve to be here. Trans folks deserve to be here. I will do what I can in my power to make sure that we exist and we can live lives that are full of thriving and opportunity. Fighting and believing in our existence and our futures have to be at the core of how we live every day.
Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
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Legendary organizing activist Dolores Huerta, 95, rides in AHF’s ‘Food for Health’ Rose Parade float
This year’s float honors AHF’s food banks, free farmers’ markets, veterans’ food programs, and massive SoCal wildfire food relief efforts for evacuees and first responders
Need some inspiration for 2026? Fix your gaze on the Pasadena Tournament of Roses this Jan.1 to find the amazing, legendary civil rights and union activist Dolores Huerta riding on AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s “Food for Health” float in the Rose Parade – an incredibly fitting community tribute to the 95-year-old co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association (now United Farm Workers) with the late Cesar Chavez.
The AHF float spotlights the organization’s national initiative to combat hunger and food insecurity by providing nutritious groceries – including produce, bread, dairy, and other staples– to families and individuals in need. Their program is illustrated through “a vibrant ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ motif, symbolizing growth, nourishment, and the power of community collaboration,” with oversized pumpkins, carrots, eggplants, and strawberries “representing the abundance that can bloom when people work together,” KTLA noted in a recent story. An overflowing farmer’s market truck is a tribute to “AHF’s volunteers and partners who served more than 75,000 meals to wildfire evacuees and first responders earlier this year.” (Click here to see KTLA’s report on the AHF float.) AHF reports that by the end of 2025, its Food for Health program “will have served over half a million people across the country with weekly groceries.”
While AHF has a reputation for illustrating significant issues through the Rose Parade – starting in 2012 with their float tribute to “Elizabeth Taylor: Our AIDS Champion” – this year’s focus on food insecurity and the possibility of hope through community collaboration is particularly significant.
While Donald Trump calls today’s affordability crisis a Democratic “hoax,” many Americans believe their own eyes. “Roughly 9 in 10 U.S. adults, 87%, say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries in the past few months, while about two-thirds say they’ve experienced higher prices than usual for electricity and holiday gifts. About half say they’ve seen higher than normal prices for gas recently,” according to a Dec. 12 AP-NORC poll.
Meanwhile, while Congress may have temporarily saved Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from major drastic One Big Beautiful Bill funding cuts – SNAP helps approximately 1 in 8 Americans afford groceries – the bill added confusing new restrictions on who could receive food aid based on employment and immigration status, according to The Hill.
“The battle over SNAP isn’t over yet, either. States are still on the hook to rein in their error rates or face further funding cuts,” The Hill reports. “The Trump administration is also threatening to withhold benefits from states that don’t hand over data on participants, including their immigration statuses.”
Dolores Huerta personifies that intersectionality of people, of issues, and “the power of community collaboration.”
“AHF celebrates Dolores Huerta as a national treasure supreme. Dolores represents our unsung farm workers who, regardless of their status, toil so hard to put food on our tables. Yet, millions of people go hungry in the richest country in the world. The mission of AHF’s Food for Health could have no better representative than Dolores,” says AHF Co-Founder and President Michael Weinstein. “Dolores has also been a steadfast comrade in arms on LGBT and renters’ issues.”
That Huerta advocates on renters’ issues is a natural extension of the mentoring she received from her independent mother, Alicia, who owned a 70-room hotel in Stockton, California, with affordable rates and breaks for low-wage workers. She was civically active and encouraged her daughter to appreciate cultural diversity in their agricultural community of Mexican, Filipino, African-American, Japanese, and Chinese working families.
Huerta got involved with the community, too, as well as earning a provisional teaching credential at the University of Pacific’s Delta College and getting married, and having two daughters. According to her foundation, “While teaching, she could no longer bear to see her students come to school with empty stomachs and bare feet, and thus began her lifelong journey of working to correct economic injustice.”
Her experience in leadership at the Stockton Community Service Organization led to her founding the Agricultural Workers Association, where she started a voter registration drive. In 1955, she married Ventura Huerta (with whom she had four more children), worked with Fred Ross to start the Community Service Organization, and met César E. Chávez. The two shared a vision to organize farm workers, and in 1962, they launched the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). Huerta’s skills in lobbying, negotiating, and organizing led in 1963 to her securing the then-unimaginable Aid for Dependent Families and disability insurance for farm workers in California.
Huerta and Chavez saw NFWA as part of the larger civil rights movement and decided to back the Filipino-led Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, an AFL-CIO labor union led by Filipino American organizer Larry Itliong, in what became the historic national 1965 Delano Grape Strike and boycott. Their coalition with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), as well as other union organizers and student activists, drew parallels between the Jim Crow South and rural California in the struggle for racial, social, and economic justice. By April 1966, the national boycott against Schenley Industries, the second largest grape grower in Delano, California, was so successful, Schenley agreed to sign a labor agreement with the NFWA, the union’s first, negotiated by Dolores Huerta.
In 1966, NFWA merged with the Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee – later pared down to the United Farm Workers. Coalition building continued, including with prominent civil rights leaders and politicians, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
On May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama presented Dolores Huerta with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying she and the other honorees had “marked my life in profound ways.”
Obama also injected some humor into the ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
“Dolores was very gracious when I told her I had stolen her slogan, ‘Sí, se puede.’ Yes, we can,” Obama said, referring to his familiar 2008 campaign slogan. “Knowing her, I’m pleased that she let me off easy, because Dolores does not play.”
“Without any negotiating experience, Dolores helped lead a worldwide grape boycott that forced growers to agree to some of the country’s first farm worker contracts. And ever since, she has fought to give more people a seat at the table,” Obama said. She is one of those individuals who says, ’Don’t wait to be invited. … Step in there.’”
Huerta is a woman of action, including standing up for the freedom to marry for same sex couples, even though the fundamental right was disparaged by some in her Latino community.
“Our relationships with the ones we love and our Latino identities are two of the biggest reasons why we should care about equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in America. When we see our Latino hermanos y hermanas harassed and held back simply for being who they are; when we can’t come together to celebrate a wedding for our gay friends; and when we know they don’t have the same opportunities we take for granted, it affects us personally,” Huerta wrote in a widely distributed June 14, 2013 essay for NBCLatino.
“I’ve spent my life championing both labor and civil rights causes and getting to know diverse perspectives; I’ve come to see that the struggles gay people face are intertwined with my own struggles,” she continued. “Let’s each do our part by being open about who we are, by accepting one another without shame or judgment, and by sharing our stories in every way possible. Whether it’s our hijos or hijas, hermanos or hermanas, or tíos and tías, we believe in the same freedoms for everybody, no matter who you are or whom you love.”
AHF launched in 1987 as AIDS Hospice Foundation with Michael Weinstein and a handful of friends trying to provide hospice care and advocacy for people with HIV/AIDS – “fighting for the living and caring for the dying” – during the Second Wave of AIDS when “freedom” often felt meaningless. The Chris Brownlie Hospice provided the last light of nurturing dignity.
Today, AHF is the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization serving more than 2.8 million individuals across 50 countries, including the U.S. Recently, the nonprofit opened a new AHF Healthcare Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and another in Detroit, Michigan, bringing the total to 19 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. AHF services have also expanded to include food, shelter, disaster relief, and wellness services.“The responsibility of bringing as many people as possible into the lifeboat of care remains staggering, but is a challenge AHF will continue to take on,” Weinstein said on World AIDS Day.
As the AHF “Food for Health” float steers down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, think of what “affordability” and “being of service” mean to you. Perhaps you, too, may be inspired by United Farm Workers Dolores Huerta or any of the other local heroes, or AHF staff and volunteers waving back at you, and join “the power of community collaboration.”
Karen Ocamb is a veteran LGBTQ+ journalist. This essay is cross-posted from her LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Substack.
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