John J. Duran is an American municipal politician and a former mayor of

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Political career

Duran was elected to the City Council on March 6, 2001. He succeeded outgoing City Council member

Paul Koretz Paul Koretz (born April 3, 1955) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 5th district from 2009 to 2022. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly and the West Hollywood City Cou ...

, who was elected to the State Assembly. He previously served on the city's Rent Stabilization Commission. Duran has a long history of involvement with the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community. One of Duran's stated concerns is

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

recovery in West Hollywood. Duran secured the site for the West Hollywood Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center. Duran also initiated a series of town hall meetings on crystal methamphetamine that has served as a model for other communities impacted. Duran is advocating for the historic preservation of the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

and the eventual creation of a Rock 'n' Roll Museum. An openly gay man, Duran is a founding board member of ANGLE (Access Now for Gay and Lesbian Equality). Duran also served as president of the board of directors of

Equality California Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California. It is the largest statewide LGBT organization in the United States and the largest member of the Equality Federation ...

(EQCA), the largest statewide LGBT civil rights organization in the U.S. In addition, Duran is a past board member of the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, Lambda Legal Defense, and the

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports act ...

. Duran has worked to defend human rights. His legal cases include ''Kolcum v. Los Angeles County'', where he successfully sued Los Angeles County for denying medication to inmates with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. Duran defended the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center during the medicinal use of marijuana controversy. In 1998, he won the first test case of medicinal marijuana defense since the passage of California's Proposition 215. Other successful cases for Duran include ''People v. Green'', where he successfully defended a defendant charged with

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

. He also served as legal counsel for

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

in the late 1980s, was the trial attorney for the Los Angeles Needle Exchange Program, and defended the first amendment rights of numerous protestors. Duran was identified as one of the 20 most influential members of the gay community by ''IN LA Magazine''. He is one of the very few HIV-positive elected officials in the United States. Duran is known as a strong advocate for the arts. He is a founder of the West Hollywood Chorale, and collects paintings and Disney memorabilia. Duran is writing a history of the gay rights movement in Southern California.

Sexual harassment allegations

Council assistants, known as "deputies", once served as full-time employees to the part-time West Hollywood City Council members. In 2015, Ian Owens, the deputy to Councilmember John Duran, accused John Duran of sexual harassment. The city's insurance carrier settled the case with a $500,000 payout to Owens. John Duran and Owens originally met in April 2012 via

Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...

, a hook-up app for gay men, and had a sexual encounter. Duran failed to disclose this sexual encounter with Owens to human resources. The scandal became known as Deputygate. Duran's relationship with Owens has been a major focus in the wrongful termination case of Michelle Rex, another council deputy, who says the city retaliated against her and fired her because she supported Owens' claims of mistreatment. Rex lost that suit in a jury trial in May 2017, but testimony during the trial revealed that Duran had made a sexually derogatory comment about Elyse Eisenberg, head of the West Hollywood Heights Neighborhood Association, in an email exchange with Owens. In testimony before a jury, Owens alleged other sexually improper behavior by Duran at city hall. On February 5, 2019, the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles announced that Duran would be leaving his position as a board member of that organization after multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct had surfaced, including slipping his hand inside the waistband of a chorus member and making inappropriate comments. Duran stepped down as mayor on March 4, 2019.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, John HIV/AIDS activists California city council members LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Gay politicians LGBT city councillors from the United States LGBT rights activists from the United States Living people People from Greater Los Angeles People with HIV/AIDS Activists from California Year of birth missing (living people)