Mayor Pro Tempore Abbe Land

Contact Mayor Pro Tempore Land

Abbe Land is a 29-year resident of West Hollywood who has had the privilege to play an instrumental role in shaping of the City of West Hollywood since its inception. Abbe was involved in the successful campaign to make West Hollywood an independent city in 1984.

Abbe Land was appointed to the City's first Planning Commission in 1985. In 1986, when a council seat was vacated mid-term, Abbe Land was elected to the City Council for her first term. She served with distinction as a Councilmember and Mayor for ten years, until 1997 when she did not seek another term.

In 2003, Abbe Land returned to public service when she was elected once again to the City Council. She was recently reelected for another term in March of 2007.

In addition to her service as an elected official, Abbe Land serves as the Co-CEO of The Saban Free Clinic, formerly known as the Los Angeles Free Clinic -- the oldest continuously operating free clinic in the nation. The Los Angeles Free Clinic provides free medical and dental care, counseling, HIV testing, health education, prenatal care and wellness programs, for thousands of the uninsured each year.

Abbe Land is recognized as a leader in healthcare management and is one of the state's leading advocates for single-payer, universal health coverage.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land has been a champion of affordable housing. She is a dedicated guardian of the City's historic tenants' rights protections. Abbe helped create the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation and our Affordable Housing Trust Fund to build and rehabilitate affordable housing for seniors, families and people living with disabilities.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land is also a strong proponent of economic development. Abbe helped develop the "Shop West Hollywood" Campaign to support the City's small businesses. She has also been involved in the development of an economic strategic plan to create an even stronger local economy.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land is an ardent supporter of arts and cultural affairs. She co-sponsored the Art Galleries Task Force to reduce the declining number of art galleries in the city's renowned Avenues of Art and Design district.

Abbe Land has influenced public policy at the local, county, state and federal level. In 1996, Abbe Land led West Hollywood to be the first California city to ban the sale of Saturday Night Specials. After a campaign that led 31 other cities to pass similar legislation, the State of California eventually banned these junk guns.

In 2007, Mayor Pro Tempore Land co-authored ordinances requiring the mandatory reporting of the theft or loss of firearms and an ordinance which requires firearm dealers to post warning signs where guns and ammunition are sold.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land has taken the lead in guiding the City's policies on sustainability. She has initiated several of the City's landmark environmental policies to cut our CO2 emissions and is playing a leadership role in creating local solutions to global warming. The City's Green Building Ordinance is the country's first mandatory program for commercial and residential buildings.

Thanks to Mayor Pro Tempore Land's influence the new West Hollywood Library will be a certified LEED Silver building. Mayor Pro Tempore Land's concern for the environment led to the development of the drought tolerant demonstration gardens on two corners of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevards.

Additionally, Mayor Pro Tempore Land co-sponsored a Heritage Tree Preservation Program to protect some of the City's old growth trees and increase our urban canopy.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land co-sponsored a Mixed-Use Task Force to examine mixed-use development for a more pedestrian-friendly, sustainable urban environment.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land is widely known for her leadership on women's issues, LGBT rights and civil liberties. Mayor Pro Tempore Land was instrumental in creating the City's Women's and Disability Advisory Boards. She was also active in the development of the City's pioneering Domestic Violence Prevention program for same sex couples.

West Hollywood has a long history of supporting women's reproductive rights thanks in part to Mayor Pro Tempore Land. In 1993 the City Council voted to become the first official pro-choice city in the nation.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land co-sponsored the model Families and Communities Task Force, which brought together public and private schools, children and family advocates and city resources to address the needs of the children of West Hollywood.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land has played a leadership role in providing services for our Russian immigrant community and making them welcome in our city.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land initiated the Well West Hollywood program designed to increase our physical activity to help reduce the rates of disease and death from chronic illness.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land currently serves on the advisory board of Women Against Gun Violence and on the board of directors of the California Community Clinic Association of L.A. County. In January of 2005, she was appointed to the L.A. County Department of Health Services' Women's Health Policy Council.

Mayor Pro Tempore Land also serves as one of the City of West Hollywood's representatives on the Westside Council of Governments (COG). She is the COG representative for the Southern California Association of Governments' Energy and Environment Committee.

Previously, Mayor Pro Tempore Land had served on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities & the California League of Cities, the Southern California Association of Governments, the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research and she is a former President of Women in Municipal Government.

Prior to her work for The Saban Free Clinic, Mayor Pro Tempore Land was the Director of Development for the Feminist Majority Foundation.

You can contact Mayor Pro Tempore Abbe Land at West Hollywood City Hall through her deputy, Corri Planck, at (323) 848-6460 or by email at aland@weho.org.

Awards and Recognitions: Mayor Pro Tempore Land is featured by the National Women's Political Caucus LA Westside Chapter in their Inaugural 2008 Women Leaders Calendar. Abbe is also one of recipients of Big Thinking Women Unlimited's 2007 "50 @ 50+ LA Award". Abbe was honored by Women Against Gun Violence for her leadership on gun policy with their 2007 "Courageous Leader Award". Also in 2007, the Los Angeles Business Journal named Abbe Land as one of Los Angeles' "Women Making a Difference". Abbe received the 2007 "President's Award" from the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. In 2006, Alternative Living for the Aging selected Abbe Land for the "Sheldon W. Andelson Award" for her commitment to affordable housing for seniors. In February of 2005 the L.A. County Commission for Women chose Abbe Land to receive the 2005 "Woman of the Year" award. In addition, Mayor Pro Tempore Land was honored with the 1999 Christopher Street West "George Moscone Award" and has been a recipient of the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board's "Rainbow Key Award". In 1998, Mayor Pro Tempore Land received the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce "Women of Distinction Award".