Housing, Renter’s Rights, and Homelessness

The quality of someone’s life is directly correlated to their zip code — we literally transform lives by housing people in West Hollywood. Chelsea is an advocate for the housing people need to live prosperous and diverse lifestyles here in West Hollywood.

As a renter, Chelsea has felt the disempowerment and frustration that can fall on tenants in tough situations. West Hollywood was founded on the values of strong renter protections and critically important to this value are the subsidies and protections needed to keep renters housed, which need reinforcement and expansion. Renters must be actively supported in education, policy, and resources to maintain housing stability throughout our city. 

Homelessness is dramatically impacted by housing affordability and availability. The number of people who cannot afford to stay in their homes and end up unhoused demonstrates our responsibility to enforce strong protections for renters and provide rental subsidies to those who can no longer afford their housing, as well as create the new housing development necessary to meet our RHNA targets.  

West Hollywood’s 10 Domains of Livability beckon us to create a built environment that suits the long lives people live in our community. Climate change demands that we consider our built environment and identify thoughtful and creative solutions to mitigate these evolving challenges. We must continue to rise to these responsibilities as the economic divide grows further. Chelsea will be a vocal champion for livability in West Hollywood.

MOBILITY SOLUTIONS FOR A MODERN CITY 

Traffic congestion pollutes the air and takes time away from our lives and families. West Hollywood’s 1.9 square miles are prime for a robust, interconnected, and highly functioning mobility network that gets people where they need to go safely, inexpensively, and on time. 

Living without a car in West Hollywood has exposed Chelsea to thoughtful opportunities to improve mobility throughout West Hollywood and has made visible the vulnerabilities, the dangers, and the opportunities that exist within our existing mobility network and infrastructure. The lack of protected bike lanes makes micro-mobility a high-risk option that many cannot choose. Older adults and disabled community members have insufficient transportation resources to meet their unique needs. West Hollywood’s Art on the Outside program, the rich architectural beauty and history, and our business community afford us abundant possibilities to facilitate greater community engagement from the street level.

Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike, in addition to our business community, will benefit from a comprehensive improvement to our mobility network and Chelsea is well-positioned to be a driving force for change by championing climate-smart alternatives to ongoing transportation challenges throughout West Hollywood.

ADDRESSING UNMET COMMUNITY NEEDS

West Hollywood has an extensive scope of service offerings that include mental health, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and homeless services, which benefit people all across LA County. Still, gaps exist within these programs — food insecurity challenges our community members, and life-saving resources for sexual violence and homelessness must be made accessible within West Hollywood. Chelsea will work tirelessly to address these places where people have unmet needs.

As a nonprofit industry worker with frontline social service provider experience, Chelsea knows the challenges of this work firsthand and is an advocate for communities of care. The service provider industry is burnt out after two years of frontline work through the pandemic. This impacts retention, which impacts service delivery, which impacts community members relying on these services. 

Growing our local economy affords the City new opportunities to support people’s livelihoods in West Hollywood. Our business community is an essential partner in this work and Chelsea will be a bridge-builder to connect these aligned entities. By leveraging creative strategies to increase revenue in the city, Chelsea will create new opportunities for increased, sustained funding to these important life-affirming community resources to improve access and transform the quality of care and service delivery in West Hollywood.

A SAFER COMMUNITY FOR ALL

Tight-knit communities are the best promoters of safety. West Hollywood is a safe haven for queer people and a Sanctuary City for immigrants and we champion these values boldly. As a City, we recognize the threats to safety that our community members experience and we have a history of enacting community-specific safety protections to address antisemitism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, anti-Asian hate, and racism of all forms. Chelsea will continue this commitment to providing direct support and protection to community members under threat. 

As a certified member of the CERT Program, Chelsea has developed the skills to build community resilience to tackle complex safety challenges. Her hands-on experience makes her an effective voice on the City Council to bring about impactful measures — including an expansion of the Block by Block safety ambassador program — to ensure our neighborhoods are safe, positive, environments. 

Chelsea has gained the necessary experience in providing accountability by overseeing contracts through her professional work and with service provider agencies through the Human Services Commission. West Hollywood’s public safety resources will be well-managed under Chelsea’s leadership. 

Value Our Workforce

Growing up as the daughter of a construction worker, Chelsea completely understands the stability needed to support working families. She will build bridges between businesses and employees to ensure a stable and equitable economic future for all. A healthy economy bolsters the essential workers who make our businesses thrive.

Chelsea fundamentally supports working families, fair wages, secure benefits, safe working conditions and pay equity. As WeHo and the region rebound from the impacts of the pandemic, we must stabilize and support our workforce. We rely on our service and healthcare industries more than ever and we must continue to safeguard the employees that keep our economy stable. A sustainable local economy should not come at the expense of workers and businesses.

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