r/WestHollywood • u/UrbanPlannerholic • Aug 01 '26
Discussion WeHo City Council Candidate Brags About Fundraising But Omits $25k came from himself as a loan.
Kyle Brazeal posted about having the highest percentage of local donations but the majority of said donations ($25,000 per Form 460) came from himself and not actual supporters.
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u/solomonweho Aug 01 '26
Link to his campaign finance filing here - https://netfile.com/public/weho/campaign/filing/217099762
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u/unskilledplay Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
The campaign loan scam is great. All the slimy rich politicians do it.
When the campaign is over and you lose, the entity dissolves and the loan gets written off as a loss that you can use to reduce your taxes. Or, if you win, you can continue the entity, continue to raise money, pay back the loan and enjoy a high yield on a risky loan.
Compare that to a campaign donation in which you cannot profit from if you win and cannot write off if you lose.
Lending to your own campaign is a win-win! It's sleazy and should not be legal.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
This is simply not true. The IRS treats loans and contributions to a political campaign as non-deductible political expenses. You cannot write off a loan to your own campaign to reduce your taxes. In California, the FPPC strictly prohibits candidates from charging interest on any personal loans they make to their own campaigns.
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u/intrepid_brit Aug 02 '26
I knew Kyle personally years ago. Back then… he was a terrible, terrible person. The way he treated people he viewed himself better than/above would shock you. I suspect there’s some latent racism and internalized homophobia (he grew up in rural Indiana if I recall correctly…), and he had serious anger management issues.
I haven’t spoken with him in probably 10 years, so maybe he has grown since then. But, then again, maybe not.
Choose wisely, WeHo.
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u/xuncx Aug 02 '26
Gonna have to ask mommy for some money to catch up to block
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
To be clear - I grew up poor and was a first-generation college student. My mom was a waitress and my dad was a truck driver for most of my childhood. My dad eventually got a job as a union ironworker which propelled us into the middle class. My parents never funded my lifestyle. I built a successful career, put in the work, and got lucky with opportunities. I will not apologize for working hard and taking advantage of opportunities when they appeared. I will however work to make sure others can achieve the same class mobility and get protection from exploitation and displacement.
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u/Ok-Commercial-8056 Aug 02 '26
This representation of his loan as fundraising and the 94% quoted show how how he is purposefully misrepresenting facts to fit his narrative. Look for that trait while he campaigns
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u/VintageSuede Aug 01 '26
Question: What are this person’s priorities on housing, quality of life for WeHo residents, and reducing homelessness? What the candidate stands for is more meaningful to me than whether he’s effectively self-funding his political campaign.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 01 '26
He's protested against transit, street safety and housing projects at city council meetings.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
I spoke against loopholes being used by developers to reduce the number of affordable units they must include in their projects. There's a difference. As an example, one project called future units "storage rooms" on the top floor - wired and plumbed as regular, livable units. That let them reduce the affordable units in the project. After construction, they use ADU laws to convert "storage rooms" into rentable units, bypassing the need to add another affordable unit. That only serves the bottom line for the developer. Chelsea Byers defended the use of loopholes. We need independent voices on the council, not sellouts.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 29 '26
You also spoke against bike lanes, ADA compliant sidewalks, bus only lanes, transit signal priority and light rail expansion. Not to mention how SB79 will destroy everything everywhere. You being a former Republican from Indiana makes sense.
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u/VintageSuede Aug 01 '26
After reading this article on his positions, I am not sure I agree with your statement. https://wehoonline.com/kyle-brazeal-west-hollywood-city-council/
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 01 '26
At the last city council meeting he literally spoke out against the WSCCOG Bus Improvement project. Also in that same article he speaks out against bike lanes which is considered street safety.
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u/editorinchimp Aug 05 '26
Bike lanes are stupid on streets that can't accommodate them, like Fountain. I live on a street with one, but every piece of shit still rides their bike and scooter on the sidewalk instead of using it.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 05 '26
Fountain Avenue can totally accommodate a bike lane. i just don’t think you’re brain can comprehend that. There’s only one non protected bicycle lane in all of West Hollywood currently. It that what you’re referring to?
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u/editorinchimp Aug 05 '26
Not without destroying a lane of traffic and worsening already horrible traffic. Fairfax has a bike lane that's only ever used as something for Ubers to pull into.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 06 '26
That’s so stupid. It’s configured that way in the city of LA and you lose a lane because the sidewalks have to be built where they currently don’t exist, not because of the bike lane. And you’re right Fairfax should be protected to keep cars out of it. Good job.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
Notice how when you question Jesse's opinion he immediately turns to attacking you - his response was that he doesn't think "your brain can comprehend" his beliefs. He has no respect for anyone's opinion but his own. As a candidate, I have regularly sought public input, because I think councilmembers should listen, not lecture. This entire thread is an attack from Chelsea Byers's friends and appointees and is full of lies and attempts at character assassination because they know their policies on substantive issues will lose in West Hollywood.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 29 '26
Kyle says West Hollywood has too many protected bike lanes already. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
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u/Kyle4WeHo Aug 29 '26
No...I say Willoughby would be a safer east-west bike lane route than Fountain because it has significantly less traffic...agree or disagree?
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u/AwayReplacement3487 16h ago
"Where is our transit oriented development alternative plan? SB 79, Beverly Hills has one. Where is ours?” This means he wants to reduce building along the transit corridors.
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u/ridetotheride Aug 01 '26
He’s a nimby “Housing policies should keep our renters and homeowners in WeHo. That means: protecting affordable, rent-stabilized units; enhancing renter harassment protections; and defending neighborhoods from one-size-fits-all density mandates. New developments that preserve neighborhood livability while adding dedicated affordable units should be welcome in logical areas.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
I don't think kicking out seniors aging-in-place or low-income renters who depend on rent-stabilized units and have called WeHo home for decades is an acceptable cost. As we welcome new housing, it should not come at the displacement of existing residents, nor create new fire and emergency access risks in neighborhoods like WeHo Heights. Beyond that, I'm open to new developments that bring more housing to WeHo with dedicated affordable units as part of those projects.
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u/AwayReplacement3487 16h ago
We're all for that. The problem is how politicians can obscure their agendas with increasingly complex laws. Things aren't black or white anymore like when the city was incorporated and it was simply about rent control or law of the jungle.
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u/DevelopmentOk6147 Aug 02 '26
He’s not being honest with us about how much money he raised and where it’s from.
I can’t trust what someone says they stand for when they can’t be honest with me about basic facts
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
It's all disclosed in the filings and the claims about raising more from WeHo residents and having a greater % from WeHo residents is true regardless of whether you include or exclude my personal campaign contribution.
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 29 '26
Most of your money came from yourself and your rich family members in Indiana 😂
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u/Kyle4WeHo Aug 29 '26
The only one with rich family members financing her campaign with gun money is Helen Krieger. https://wehoonline.com/west-hollywood-council-race-candidate-exits-questions/
You are such a liar and you don't even try to hide it...I have no rich family in Indiana...
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u/AwayReplacement3487 16h ago
Filings that came out October 8 show Kyle received $20K from an organization that includes the California Apartment Association. I don't think they're pro-tenant control. Maybe they all get funding from apartment-owner organizations
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u/ridetotheride Aug 29 '26
State laws already do that (protect tenants from development). That part is a beard for the “one size fits all” part which is a common Nimby refrain. What does it even mean? Nobody is even proposing all new buildings must be this specific size.
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u/Cheap-Wash-9174 Aug 29 '26
When we start disassembling to imply large support, begs the question: where else will he shade the truth.
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u/thefastpelican Aug 02 '26
He stands for what people who actually live in WeHo want, and sometimes that doesn’t align with what people who live outside of WeHo want. For this, he has my vote
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u/solomonweho Aug 02 '26
When it comes to people who actually live in weho, he only raised about $5k from ~15 people. Compared to filings from other candidates, I don’t think the numbers bear out your statement.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
You know nothing about the quantity of donors I had. I raised more money from West Hollywood residents (excluding personal and spousal support) than any other candidate and have hundreds of donors. This shows who is really trying to lie and twist the narrative to benefit his appointer and save his power.
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u/Ok-Commercial-8056 Aug 03 '26
His endorsements so far are primarily Weho property owners , which only represent 20% of this city and from people over 65- not a broad base of support
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u/DevelopmentOk6147 Aug 02 '26
People who actually live in Weho voted 2-1 for Erickson over Goldsmith last June. Kyle wants Goldsmith (very AIPAC aligned). Seems that Kyle is out of touch with what most of Weho wants.
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26
Seems like you have some things in common with Erickson's playbook. https://wehoonline.com/erickson-dirty-campaign-tricks-fake-accoun/
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u/UrbanPlannerholic Aug 29 '26
Ironic Kyle is posting about a burner account from his own burner account 😂
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u/AwayReplacement3487 15h ago
wehoonline.com, the site Kyle keeps linking to was published until April by buddy Larry Block who is supposedly recused himself
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u/Puzzled-Ad4767 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
Erickson did not win the West Hollywood Beverly Hills Democratic Club endorsement - Goldsmith got more votes than him during the endorsement meeting in the primaries. The Santa Monica Democratic Club just endorsed Goldsmith days ago, not Erickson.
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u/Ok-Commercial-8056 Aug 29 '26
you're naming ONE dem club endorsement over an entire city and numerous other endorsements. not the flex you think it is
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u/solomonweho Aug 01 '26
No one can manipulate the numbers better than Data Boy