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Sepi Shyne
American politician (born 1977) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sepideh Shyne (née Ghafouri; born February 19, 1977) is an Iranian-born American attorney, civil rights advocate, and former member of the West Hollywood City Council who served as West Hollywood's mayor from 2023 until 2024.[1] Shyne was the first LGBTQ+ Iranian-American to be elected to office as well as the first woman of color elected to the West Hollywood City Council, with her election making the first female-majority council in the city's history.[2][3][4] She was an unsuccessful candidate to represent California's 30th congressional district in the 2024 election to succeed Adam Schiff who vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate.[5]
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Early life and career
Shyne was born Sepideh Ghafouri on February 19, 1977, in Mashhad, Iran, with her family fleeing Iran in 1982 due to the Iranian Revolution.[6] They moved to Santa Clara Valley, California, where she attended De Anza College and later transferred to San Jose State University where she earned her Bachelor of Science.[2] She later got her Juris Doctor at Golden Gate University School of Law before moving to Los Angeles in 2006, relocating to West Hollywood afterwards.[3] In 2009, she founded the company Soulillume, which specializes in reiki.[7]
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Political career
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After graduating from law school, Shyne was elected to the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom.[8] After moving to West Hollywood, she was elected to the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, becoming its co-president in 2008.[9][10]
In 2018, Shyne was appointed to West Hollywood's Gay and Lesbian Advisory Board, where her colleges encouraged her to get into electoral politics.[11] That year, she announced that she would be running for West Hollywood City Council, but lost to incumbent John D’Amico by a small margin.[12] She then ran in the next election in 2020, where she won the top seat in the election.[3][13] She was sworn in on December 7, 2020.[14]
On August 16, 2021, West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath selected Shyne as the new Mayor pro Tempore, with the City Council unanimously voting in favor of her appointment.[2] On December 19, 2022, the City Council voted to appoint Shyne as the next Mayor, succeeding Lauren Meister.[15] She was sworn in on January 9, 2023.[16] In February 2023, Shyne announced that she would be running for California's 30th congressional district, an open seat vacated by incumbent Adam Schiff's run for Senate.[7][5] She lost the primary against Laura Friedman and Alex Balekian, conceding defeat on March 6, 2024.[17] In April 2024, Shyne announced that she would not be seeking re-election to the City Council.[18][19]
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Personal life
Shyne is a lesbian.[20] In 2014, Shyne married actress Ashlei Shyne and took her last name.[21]
Although she grew up as a Muslim, she no longer practices the faith, although she has described herself as "very spiritual."[11] She has a pet dog, Chloe Shyne, who as part of West Hollywood's Pet Mayor program was sworn in as the first Pet Mayor of West Hollywood on April 1, 2023.[22]
References
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