Councilmember Running Half Marathon To Raise Funds For LGBTIQ

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – West Hollywood Councilmember John Heilman, one of the longest-serving openly gay elected officials, will be running the half marathon at the upcoming Gay Games in Paris on August 11. Heilman is hoping to raise $20,000 in funds to establish a Global Emergency Fund with OutRight Action International for LGBTIQ activists around the world, according to a City of West Hollywood press release.

Heilman participated in Gay Games events in the past, playing volleyball, and for the last two decades has run marathons to support various causes, the press release said. He serves on Outright's board of directors, and said it's an "amazing international LGBTIQ human rights organization dedicated to supporting human rights for LGBTIQ people throughout the world."

"OutRight has been doing everything possible to respond to attacks on our community,” Heilman said. “When LGBTIQ activists are under attack, OutRight is there to respond. With my help, OutRight is setting up a Global Emergency Fund for LGBTIQ human rights. While we’ve made significant progress in advancing equality for LGBTIQ people in the United States, progress has been much slower in other parts of the world. In fact, homosexuality is still a crime in over 70 countries, and in some places, it is punishable by death. It seems like every month, there is a new attack on the LGBTIQ community somewhere in the world.”

Heilman was first elected to the West Hollywood City Council in 1984 and was chosen as the city’s second mayor in 1985, the press release said. He has served eight terms as Mayor, and is also a well-known law school professor. He currently teaches at both Southwestern Law School and USC Gould School of Law.

He's been an active member of various state, local, and international organizations, having served on the Board of Directors of both the National League of Cities and the League of California Cities, according to the city. He's a founding member and past president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Local Officials group and is a past co-chair of the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials.

Councilmember Heilman has created a Go Fund Me page at to raise funds for OutRight Action Internationalwww.gofundme.com/JohnHeilman.

Go Fund Me is a Patch promotional partner; Image courtesy of Go Fund Me