John M. Erickson
Candidate for State Senate District 24
John M. Erickson is a member of the West Hollywood City Council. He was first elected in November 2020. He was re-elected in 2024. He has also served as the city's mayor. He filed to run for California State Senate District 24 in March 2025. He is seeking to succeed termed-out State Senator Ben Allen. The seat is open. The general election is November 3, 2026. Erickson previously served as Vice President of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. In June 2025, he left that role. That was around the time he launched his Senate campaign. He became Chief of Staff at the Alliance for a Better Community. That organization focuses on social, economic, and racial equity policy. Its work centers on the Latino community in the Los Angeles region. As a councilmember, Erickson says he authored rent protections. Those protections let senior and disabled West Hollywood residents move units. They can keep their existing rent rates. He also says he helped establish WeHo Cares. That is the city's behavioral health crisis response team. Some of his specific claims have not been independently verified. This includes claims of sole authorship of programs. It also includes exact budget figures. Local reporters have not confirmed these details. Erickson advanced to the November 2026 general election. He was one of two Democrats who led the primary field. The other was Brian Goldsmith. That primary was nonpartisan. It had nine candidates. It was held June 2, 2026. Erickson received 20.5% of the primary vote (62,397 votes). Home: West Hollywood, California. Occupation: Chief of Staff, Alliance for Better Communities. He is also a sitting West Hollywood City Councilmember. Prior office: West Hollywood City Council, elected 2020, re-elected 2024. He also served as Mayor of West Hollywood. He is not currently a state officeholder.
On the issues
- Housing & Homelessness
Supports expanded local tenant protections and streamlined housing approvals, citing his record in West Hollywood, while cautioning that state housing mandates should account for local underbuilding history; also points to founding WeHo Cares as his approach to homelessness/behavioral health response.
Source → - Public Safety & Policing
Cites public safety investment as part of his mayoral record and lists public safety as a campaign priority, including support for the WeHo Cares behavioral-health crisis response team as a complement to policing.
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Lists sustainability and disaster resiliency (including wildfire and coastal erosion preparedness) as a campaign priority, and supports statewide regulation of e-bikes (helmets, insurance, geofencing) as a safety/transportation measure.
Source →
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