Sepi Shyne

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. 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. 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. 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.

Political career After graduating from law school, Shyne was elected to the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. After moving to West Hollywood, she was elected to the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, becoming its co-president in 2008.

In 2018, Shyne was appointed to West Hollywood's Gay and Lesbian Advisory Board, where her colleges encouraged her to get into electoral politics. 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. She then ran in the next election in 2020, where she won the top seat in the election. She was sworn in on December 7, 2020.

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. On December 19, 2022, the City Council voted to appoint Shyne as the next Mayor, succeeding Lauren Meister. She was sworn in on January 9, 2023. 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. She lost the primary against Laura Friedman and Alex Balekian, conceding defeat on March 6, 2024. In April 2024, Shyne announced that she would not be seeking re-election to the City Council.

Personal life Shyne is a lesbian. In 2014, Shyne married actress Ashlei Shyne and took her last name.

Although she grew up as a Muslim, she no longer practices the faith, although she has described herself as "very spiritual."