Councilmember John J. Duran

Contact Councilmember Duran's Office

Councilmember John J. Duran was born in Los Angeles and raised in Santa Fe Springs a community located in South-East Los Angeles County. Councilmember Duran was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on March 6, 2001. His election was the continuation of a long and dedicated history of service to the West Hollywood community. From 2000 to 2001 he served as Vice-Chair of the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Commission, adjudicating appeals for landlord-tenant disputes and making policy recommendations on affordable housing and protection of tenants' rights. Councilmember Duran also served as a volunteer attorney for the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) Legal Clinic, a community-based organization dedicated to protecting tenants' rights.

Councilmember Duran, a native Angeleno, received his juris doctorate degree from Western State University in Orange County, and leads one of Southern California's prominent law firms on Gay and Lesbian rights and AIDS law. Councilmember Duran has represented more than 1,000 clients with AIDS on issues ranging from discrimination to hate crimes. Councilmember Duran's current legal practice is criminal defense, specializing in crimes of addiction.

Throughout his career, Councilmember Duran has worked to defend human rights. His many prominent legal cases include Kolcum v. L.A. County, where he successfully sued Los Angeles County for denying medication to inmates with HIV/AIDS. He successfully defended the Cannabis Buyer's Club 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 Councilmember Duran include Morton v. City of Costa Mesa, where he represented two Lesbians who were subjected to unlawful genital search to determine their gender. He also served as legal counsel for ACT UP (AIDS coalition to unleash power) in the late 1980's, was the trial attorney for the Los Angeles Needle Exchange Program and has defended the first amendment rights of numerous protestors.

Councilmember Duran's defense of human rights extends outside of his legal practice into many activist and volunteer activities. He was a founding board member of ANGLE (Access Now for Gay and Lesbian Equality) from 1989 to the present date. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento-based EQCA -- Equality California (formerly known as CAPE). Since 1999, he has served on Wendy's Hope Advisory Board, a joint venture with City of Hope focusing on women with breast cancer. Councilmember Duran currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Board of Directors of AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Legislative Activities: During his tenure in the West Hollywood City Council, Councilmember Duran has initiated and co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation, including the "anti-declawing ordinance", which formally banned the medical procedure that removes cats' claws. And although the ordinance only affects veterinary centers within the City of West Hollywood, it has set a precedent as the first city in North America to do this, and has become a model for other governments currently examining the possibility of adopting a similar measure.

Councilmember Duran also worked with members of the West Hollywood Drug and Alcohol Recovery Center to secure a location within the city where individuals seeking recovery could meet. In 2003, Councilmember Duran initiated a legislative project, in conjunction with Councilmember John Heilman, directing city staff to assist this organization's move into one of the city's facilities.

Councilmember Duran is a strong advocate for the fine arts. He co-founded the West Hollywood Chorale in 1998 and is a member (tenor) of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles. He also performed in the AIDS docudrama: "Lives on the Live" at the West Hollywood Celebration Theater. Councilmember Duran's vision for the City includes the adoption of a community-based theater to support our diverse fine arts programming, the creation of a shared-used space on the Sunset Strip to memorialize its history as it relates to the music and entertainment industries that made the Sunset Strip a world renowned destination.

Other projects initiated or co-sponsored by Councilmember Duran:

In 2007, Councilmember Duran co-sponsored an Interim Zoning Ordinance, as a way of taking a time out in the heavy development phase going on in West Hollywood over the last four years, which caused the loss of many affordable housing units and the displacement of long-term residents. The IZO is a temporary measure until the City updates its General Plan. While this ordinance is in place, new development proposals have to meet these newly adopted interim standards.

Given the continuing rise of commercial rents in the City, many non-profit organizations have been facing displacement as they are unable to pay the much higher rents expected by landlords. In response to this situation, Councilmember Duran directed staff to investigate the feasibility of creating a common, shared office space for non-profits where rents will be affordable. Preserving non-profit, social services organizations is another way to meet residents' needs and a way of maximizing the village concept that West Hollywood has adopted for its development and that so many residents embrace as a way of life.

In 2004, Councilmember Duran sponsored a resolution condemning the war in Iraq, making West Hollywood the first municipality in Southern California to condemn the war.

Awards and Recognitions: Councilmember Duran's awards and recognitions include the Labor Day L.A. Humanitarian Award which he received for dedication to human rights and AIDS activism. He was also recognized in 1991 by the California State Assembly for crafting California's legislative response to AIDS as the statewide co-chair of the LIFE AIDS lobby. Councilmember Duran was also named the 1990 Los Angeles Gay Pride Man of the Year by Christopher Street West and Man of the Year in 1989 by Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration.

In October 2002, Councilmember Duran was recognized by Being Alive, a coalition of people living with AIDS, for its leadership in HIV/AIDS services and for helping to improve the lives of the affected and infected with HIV. Councilmember Duran is one of very few openly HIV positive elected officials in the nation. In 2003, Councilmember Duran was again recognized for his advocacy efforts on behalf of Latino men and women living with HIV/AIDS. Councilmember Duran received the Community Activist Award from AltaMed Health Services Corporation, one of the leading providers of health and social services to Latino/as in Eastern Los Angeles County.

You can contact Councilmember Duran at West Hollywood City Hall through his Deputy, Hernan Molina, at (323) 848-6460.