Erickson Voted to Slash Public Safety Funding While Crime Spiked 137%
Public SafetyAs crime surged 137 percent, Councilmember John Erickson voted to cut public safety funding in his own district. Following the reduction in public safety funding, Sgt. Michael Yost of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station noted, “We had a large spike of robberies regarding jewelry and people being followed home from establishments,” and called the spike in crime “very concerning.”
Crime in West Hollywood rose 137 percent in a single year, according to sheriff's department data reported in March 2022. Despite record-high crime increases, John Erickson voted for a budget that reduced sheriff's deputies assigned to the city. Later that year, Erickson voted to reduce public safety funding.
Following the reduction in public safety funding, a string of high-profile incidents and mounting public pressure forced a re-vote, and the council reversed the decision the following year.
By then, an independent safety survey had already ranked West Hollywood among the state's most dangerous cities.
Additionally, while homelessness fell across Los Angeles County in 2025, it rose in West Hollywood.
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Conduct
Corruption Report: Erickson Threatened City Commissioner Over Endorsement
John Erickson told city commissioner Tod Hallman, "If you do this, you can no longer be my commissioner," after he endorsed who could have been the first Black city councilmember in West Hollywood history. Assemblymember Rick Zbur didn't mince words: "This conduct is textbook public corruption.”
Court Records
Erickson Was Sued Twice Over Unpaid Credit Card Debt
Records show Erickson was sued not once, but twice over unpaid credit card debt. A court ordered him to pay it back in 2021. It took until 2024, three years later, for him to finally settle up.
The record leaves an open question – if he couldn't manage $3,000, what makes him qualified to vote on the state budget of $349 billion?