LOS ANGELES, CA – West Hollywood City Council candidate Larry Block is facing renewed scrutiny over a local news website he owns after a political blog alleged in an Oct. 4 post that he used the site to publish misleading claims about two 2024 candidates, allegations that no official finding supports.
The post alleges that Block used the site to publish misleading claims about 2024 candidates George Nickle and Zekiah Wright while backing Council member John Erickson. Block is one of 14 qualified candidates competing for three at-large City Council seats on the Nov. 3 general municipal election ballot, according to the City Clerk’s election page.
The claims come from an advocacy blog, not from a government agency, court or election regulator. Block has denied having a relationship with Erickson.
The dispute grows out of the 2024 City Council race, in which Block finished third, and it has resurfaced as he seeks a seat in 2026.
Post alleges the site favored Erickson
The Oct. 4 post says Block, who owns the news website, used it to publish claims about Nickle and Wright that the post describes as misleading. It says the coverage came as Block supported Erickson in the 2024 race.
The post lays out a sequence of events in September 2024. It says the Chamber PAC endorsed Wright and Nickle on Sept. 5, that Block published a piece critical of the chamber on Sept. 10, and that the website reported Wright’s arrest on Sept. 12.
The post presents that sequence as a pattern. These are the blog’s characterizations and have not been independently established.
Block says he has no relationship with Erickson
Block replied to questions from the blog in October. He said he has no relationship with Erickson and that the two have not met for breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee in the past two years.
He said he and Erickson do text, as he does with others when he is seeking or providing information.
Dispute over a National Night Out opinion piece
The post cites an Aug. 7, 2025, opinion piece by Block on the website. According to the post, the piece claimed Nickle was reprimanded by the city attorney after a dispute involving Erickson and a neighborhood watch group.
The city hosts National Night Out events each August, and each block party is hosted by a local Neighborhood Watch group, according to the city’s 2024 National Night Out announcement. That announcement covers the event in general and does not address the dispute described in the post.
City attorney’s reported account differs from the opinion piece
The post says West Hollywood City Attorney Lauren Langer told Nickle that he had requested the meeting, that the City Clerk was not involved and that she would not characterize their conversation as a reprimand. The post presents that account as contrary to the 2025 opinion piece.
The City Attorney is the chief legal officer of the city, and Langer is the appointed City Attorney, according to the City Attorney’s page. The account of her communication with Nickle comes from the post, and the city has not published it.
Timing of the Wright arrest coverage is questioned
The post also questions the timing of the website’s September 2024 coverage of Wright’s arrest, which it says followed a complaint Erickson filed. The post raises the timing as a question and does not cite any finding that the coverage was improper.
Wright, a former rent stabilization commissioner and 2024 candidate, was arrested Sept. 12, 2024, at about 10 a.m. on felony identity theft and perjury charges and was released on citation, according to initial reports. Those reports said the charges allegedly involved a business filing that replaced Wright as agent for service of process with Erickson’s name, using City Hall’s address.
An arrest is not a conviction, and the allegations remain subject to the criminal court process.
Sheriff’s detective and Erickson spoke in 2024
Detective Brandon Zeff of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood Station confirmed the Sept. 12, 2024, arrest of Wright in September 2024. He said the tentative Nov. 13 court date reflected standard 60-day calendars and was coincidental.
Erickson told a reporter in September 2024 that his understanding was that there was an investigation into the matter. He said any further questions should go to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department.
Block’s 2024 result and 2026 race
Block finished third in the 2024 City Council race with 4,210 votes, in a contest for two seats, so he did not win a seat. The city published the results it received from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in a November 2024 release on semi-final results.
For 2026, the city announced the candidacy nomination period for the seats on the Nov. 3 ballot in a news release. In ballot order, the qualified candidates are Helen Krieger, Kody Christiansen, Jonathan Cottrell, Stephen J. Post, Joel Zaldivar, Kevin L. Ligon, Tom Demille, John Duran, Larry Block, Kyle Brazeal, Chelsea Byers, Alden Marlon Gobel, Chukwudubem Chiedu Egbuniwe and Tatyana Tanya Tsikanovsky.
The City Clerk’s page also lists each candidate’s statement. Block signaled his run and stepped back from the website, and Brian Holt became its managing editor in November 2025, according to initial reports.
Where campaign finance reports are filed
City council candidates file Form 460, the Recipient Committee Campaign Statement, with the City Clerk, on paper or electronically, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission’s guidance for candidates. Those filings are where a candidate’s reported contributions and spending are disclosed.
No campaign finance finding about Block has been published in connection with the post. The claims about the website concern its coverage, not the filing of campaign statements.
Vote centers and drop boxes
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk published a municipal information booklet on July 23 for the Nov. 3 general election. The booklet covers local races, including West Hollywood.
The city’s voting reminder lists two vote centers. Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall, 1200 N. Vista St., is open Oct. 24 to Nov. 3, and the West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center, 8750 El Tovar Place, is open Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.
Election Day vote center hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ballot drop boxes are at City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd., the West Hollywood Library, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., and Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.
Election date is Nov. 3
Voters will choose among the 14 qualified candidates for three at-large seats on Nov. 3. The county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk supplies the results the city publishes after each election.
The allegations in the post remain claims by an advocacy blog. No official finding addresses them, and Block’s denial of a relationship with Erickson stands as his public response.
