Linda Briskman: Grandma mayor?
BEVERLY HILLS - If Linda Briskman retains her Beverly Hills City Council seat in 2009, it will be her third tour of duty on the council, her second stint as mayor, and her first as a brand new grandmother. Seniority decides who holds the mayorship, and Briskman – who was mayor in 2005 – is in pole position, having served eight years back-to-back on the City Council.
Walking from her fourth floor City office to Kelly’s Coffee Shop (“because I don’t think it’s right to be conducting campaign business from City Hall”), Briskman gushes and smiles as she proudly displays pictures on her Blackberry of her two-and-a-half week old grandson, Henry. She’s thrilled that her daughter and son-in-law have moved within four blocks of her home and says she’s more than ready to undertake babysitting duties. And while Briskman doesn’t come across as the type to sit at home knitting booties, it does beg the question:
Why choose to run again for City Council?
If [people] know me long enough, then you know that I need things to fill my life and having the opportunity to run again and the opportunity to work with the community and the regional issues is very important to me because I think that we are at a really critical time in our city’s history and the future is going to be bleak for a while.
Define “critical”
It’s all based on the economy at this particular point. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t lost in this downturn, which is a unique situation. Generally the economy will affect a sector but this affects everyone. I started to see this at the end of the summer and said so. My retail background gave me an inkling that business was getting softer, holiday sales were lighter. I think at the end of the day you’ll see some retailers will see a 40% decrease in value. That’s enormous. I know there are reports of 8-10 percent but I walk the streets and talk to the retailers and I know that while department stores may have created and raised the cash to pay the rent and keep the lights on, they did it at the expense of our smaller, unique boutiques.
What specific skills do you have that will help weather the city through this?
First of all weathering a 30-year career in the apparel business and always doing so at a profit. Also, my eight years on the council, weathering budget cycles, knowing what kind of cuts have the least impact on our residents and the most impact on our bottom line. Finally, the encouragement I got from our residents and the people I trust who are fearful of someone new taking over [as mayor] at a time like this. Editor's note: Several residents took out a full-page advertisement in the local paper urging Briskman to run again.
You’re currently considered the go to person when it comes to seeking funding in Sacramento and Washington. How will you approach efforts in light of the budget problems in California and the new Obama administration?
I have 100 percent support from our legislative leaders in Sacramento to begin with. Both (District 23 Senator) Fran Pavley and (42nd District Assemblyman) Mike Feuer are big supporters of me and have encouraged me to run. I’m in touch with them on a regular basis and I plan to go to Sacramento perhaps in the next couple of weeks if this budget crisis doesn’t reach some kind of solution. I’m already scheduled to go to Washington in February with the City Manager (Rod Wood) as we do every year. Also, that legislative relationship came as an outgrowth when I was mayor last time, because I believed we weren’t using our political capital the way we should. All those people were coming here to raise funds for their runs for office but felt we had no interest in anything outside our physical geography. I thought more globally, more regionally, 9/11 really cemented it for me and I felt it was extremely important we had a seat at the table. That’s when we started making these trips and I’ve gone with every mayor and I think we’ve done quite well.
What are some of the issues Beverly Hills could push for with the Obama administration?
We have two big issues we’ve been pushing for and I don’t expect that support to change [with the new administration]. If anything I think that it will increase. One is Homeland Security. We have been lobbying for Homeland Security grant money through our UNITE program and technology grants for about three years. We are on solid ground as a result of going back there and pounding the pavement. We’ve had legislators laugh in our face and say ‘Get your own money for Homeland Security’. But over the years, the mood has changed, the terrorist situation has changed, dignitary protection has changed and we’ve made our case. And now I think we’re close to two million dollars in grant money we’ve received in the last year between Sacramento and DC. The second thing in Sacramento as well as Washington is transportation. Measure R passing is a very big deal. $40 billion dollars in the next 30 years. I’m a big advocate of regional transportation and mass transit and I plan to work very hard to ensure that that Measure R money is spent appropriately and Beverly Hills gets its fair share.
You are also still on the Westside Cities Council of Governments (COG), correct?
Yes, very much so. I’m the Immediate Past Chair and I’m the co-chair of the Transportation Sub-Committee.
So how important is it that there is continuity when it comes to lobbying in Washington and Sacramento – that you still need to be on the council to do this?
I’m the name. I’m the face. I’m the person they are used to. As the players have changed I have introduced myself to them. I am the face of legislative advocacy right now for the city of Beverly Hills. No other council member has taken the interest in it I have. I will make sure that someone does when I’m reelected and I’ll groom someone to step into that role, and I’ll do it from day one.
What would you say are the other major issues facing the city?
The number one issue facing this city is the loss of revenue due to the economy because everything else flows from that.
Is there anything from your previous term as mayor that you would or wouldn’t repeat?
I would bring back my one-on-one with the mayor, because more people stopped me to say ‘How come they didn’t continue that?’ So the first Monday of every month anyone will be able to meet with me at City Hall for 15 minutes. If it requires more time for a future appointment we’ll schedule it and people can talk to me about any issue they want and the staff will take it from there.
Anything you would do differently from when you were mayor in 2005?
I had a very good year as mayor and the economy was thriving, so I think just the ability to go with the flow and know how to adapt. I’m very flexible and very adaptable.
As a supporter of the closely contested Measure H vote, how would you go about addressing the divisiveness caused by that in the community?
There’s a perception that certain council members are pro development and others not. But all council members are pro good development and because the revenue flows from good development it’s incumbent on the council to approve the projects they feel will give the least impact with the most revenue. I think that the Hilton project was a poorly executed agenda item. Something was lost in the translation of the project. I said yes to the project not because I thought it was perfect but because the Planning Commission did a good job of ferreting out the uncomfortable issues and the most serious impacts. To be perfectly honest, the Planning Commission got 85% of what they wanted and the fact that they were so upset because the council voted for something that was more than they approved will always bother me. I was a Planning Commissioner and if I took a project of that size before the council and they approved 85% of it I would consider that to be a victory. I said yes to The 9900 Wilshire Project because of the Hilton and I saw the Hilton as the most commercially viable of the two. I would never have taken the 9900 property out of play commercially if I didn’t think the Hilton was going to be approved in some form that they could build.
Speaking of building, where is the General Plan going?
I think there’s a miscommunication on the General Plan process. It’s not going to change significantly. It has seven elements all of which need to be reviewed. Once the vision is created then the important part is the zoning codes that go with it. I would be very surprised if the Planning Commission brought forward many changes that are material. I think the community is too wrapped in the General Plan, thinking there’s going to some big revelation. It’s just fine-tuning of the exiting General Plan; new things that have to be put into place like sustainability, updated housing, and environmental aspects. I advocated a smart growth General Plan, which tells a built out city like ours where our opportunities are and what areas shouldn’t be touched. Most people focus on height when it comes to the General Plan and it triggers the most emotion, but it’s not the most important. Because it’s taking so long it’s probably because large projects took over, and there were many changes in personnel that took priority. But the current General Plan was always in force. There was no downside to it, but it should have been wrapped up in 3-5 years. However I do think they’ll have it wrapped up by this summer and there won’t be any massive changes. However, that’s when the zoning starts and that’s a whole different thing.
Anything else you’d want to focus on in the coming year?
I think it’s very important for us to evaluate our real property, decide if there’s anything we should sell, swap, trade or buy to fit our needs in this economy. We need to evaluate our fees to make sure they are all legitimate, that posted fees are all being collected legitimately, and that our codes are being enforced. And we need to evaluate our personnel to make sure they are being used as efficiently as possible.
Are you concerned about the City’s current budget and reserves?
Yes I am. Because there isn’t going to be any more development. You can kiss development goodbye for at least another 18 months. Retail sales are also going to suffer and we’re not going to have a large revenue basis. I hope something gets built at the Hilton, because it will be one of the only large sources of revenue the City can count on going forward for now. We’ve approved projects all over the city and not one of them is being built.
Do you have any other concerns?
Yes. My other big concern is infrastructure. We cannot not invest in our infrastructure upgrades because we will pay a big price. So while it’s not very exciting to our residents to know that we’re going to have to spend money underground, we are. This is not the time to let our streets, roads, parks, and sidewalks down. They are our major real estate and we have to protect our investment.
If you retain your seat you’ll be working with at least one and potentially two new council members. How will you deal with that?
It’s important that we get people on board who really want to do the job. Just because someone has an anti-development opinion or disagreed with a council decision, that doesn’t make them a council member. There are many ingredients that go into making a good council member: leadership, integrity, experience. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We need intelligent, dedicated, hard-working, multi-tasking council members. We have to be careful that the resumes of those seeking the job have the required skills. It’s not enough to want the job; you have to be able to do it.
Why should the community re-elect Linda Briskman?
Everyone who knows me knows I love this community. I’ve invested in this community for over 20 years, from the day I got here. I have more to give and I can’t think of anything better to do with my time. It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve never used it for personal gain nor has any member of my family. I have no hidden agenda and whether someone agrees or disagrees with me they know they are going to get an informed, honest, opinion and I think I have a reputation for being a council member you can count on.
For more information on Linda Briskman's campaign, visit elect.briskman.net
The Beverly Hills Community News Project will be interviewing all 11 candidates running for the three open seats over the coming weeks. Please check back for more in-depth profile interviews
Barry Brucker Interview
Willie Brien Interview
Virginia Maas Interview
Nili Nathan Interview
Michael Hakim Interview
Fran Cohen Interview
Richard Stone Interview
John Mirisch Interview
Walking from her fourth floor City office to Kelly’s Coffee Shop (“because I don’t think it’s right to be conducting campaign business from City Hall”), Briskman gushes and smiles as she proudly displays pictures on her Blackberry of her two-and-a-half week old grandson, Henry. She’s thrilled that her daughter and son-in-law have moved within four blocks of her home and says she’s more than ready to undertake babysitting duties. And while Briskman doesn’t come across as the type to sit at home knitting booties, it does beg the question:
Why choose to run again for City Council?
If [people] know me long enough, then you know that I need things to fill my life and having the opportunity to run again and the opportunity to work with the community and the regional issues is very important to me because I think that we are at a really critical time in our city’s history and the future is going to be bleak for a while.
Define “critical”
It’s all based on the economy at this particular point. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t lost in this downturn, which is a unique situation. Generally the economy will affect a sector but this affects everyone. I started to see this at the end of the summer and said so. My retail background gave me an inkling that business was getting softer, holiday sales were lighter. I think at the end of the day you’ll see some retailers will see a 40% decrease in value. That’s enormous. I know there are reports of 8-10 percent but I walk the streets and talk to the retailers and I know that while department stores may have created and raised the cash to pay the rent and keep the lights on, they did it at the expense of our smaller, unique boutiques.
What specific skills do you have that will help weather the city through this?
First of all weathering a 30-year career in the apparel business and always doing so at a profit. Also, my eight years on the council, weathering budget cycles, knowing what kind of cuts have the least impact on our residents and the most impact on our bottom line. Finally, the encouragement I got from our residents and the people I trust who are fearful of someone new taking over [as mayor] at a time like this. Editor's note: Several residents took out a full-page advertisement in the local paper urging Briskman to run again.
You’re currently considered the go to person when it comes to seeking funding in Sacramento and Washington. How will you approach efforts in light of the budget problems in California and the new Obama administration?
I have 100 percent support from our legislative leaders in Sacramento to begin with. Both (District 23 Senator) Fran Pavley and (42nd District Assemblyman) Mike Feuer are big supporters of me and have encouraged me to run. I’m in touch with them on a regular basis and I plan to go to Sacramento perhaps in the next couple of weeks if this budget crisis doesn’t reach some kind of solution. I’m already scheduled to go to Washington in February with the City Manager (Rod Wood) as we do every year. Also, that legislative relationship came as an outgrowth when I was mayor last time, because I believed we weren’t using our political capital the way we should. All those people were coming here to raise funds for their runs for office but felt we had no interest in anything outside our physical geography. I thought more globally, more regionally, 9/11 really cemented it for me and I felt it was extremely important we had a seat at the table. That’s when we started making these trips and I’ve gone with every mayor and I think we’ve done quite well.
What are some of the issues Beverly Hills could push for with the Obama administration?
We have two big issues we’ve been pushing for and I don’t expect that support to change [with the new administration]. If anything I think that it will increase. One is Homeland Security. We have been lobbying for Homeland Security grant money through our UNITE program and technology grants for about three years. We are on solid ground as a result of going back there and pounding the pavement. We’ve had legislators laugh in our face and say ‘Get your own money for Homeland Security’. But over the years, the mood has changed, the terrorist situation has changed, dignitary protection has changed and we’ve made our case. And now I think we’re close to two million dollars in grant money we’ve received in the last year between Sacramento and DC. The second thing in Sacramento as well as Washington is transportation. Measure R passing is a very big deal. $40 billion dollars in the next 30 years. I’m a big advocate of regional transportation and mass transit and I plan to work very hard to ensure that that Measure R money is spent appropriately and Beverly Hills gets its fair share.
You are also still on the Westside Cities Council of Governments (COG), correct?
Yes, very much so. I’m the Immediate Past Chair and I’m the co-chair of the Transportation Sub-Committee.
So how important is it that there is continuity when it comes to lobbying in Washington and Sacramento – that you still need to be on the council to do this?
I’m the name. I’m the face. I’m the person they are used to. As the players have changed I have introduced myself to them. I am the face of legislative advocacy right now for the city of Beverly Hills. No other council member has taken the interest in it I have. I will make sure that someone does when I’m reelected and I’ll groom someone to step into that role, and I’ll do it from day one.
What would you say are the other major issues facing the city?
The number one issue facing this city is the loss of revenue due to the economy because everything else flows from that.
Is there anything from your previous term as mayor that you would or wouldn’t repeat?
I would bring back my one-on-one with the mayor, because more people stopped me to say ‘How come they didn’t continue that?’ So the first Monday of every month anyone will be able to meet with me at City Hall for 15 minutes. If it requires more time for a future appointment we’ll schedule it and people can talk to me about any issue they want and the staff will take it from there.
Anything you would do differently from when you were mayor in 2005?
I had a very good year as mayor and the economy was thriving, so I think just the ability to go with the flow and know how to adapt. I’m very flexible and very adaptable.
As a supporter of the closely contested Measure H vote, how would you go about addressing the divisiveness caused by that in the community?
There’s a perception that certain council members are pro development and others not. But all council members are pro good development and because the revenue flows from good development it’s incumbent on the council to approve the projects they feel will give the least impact with the most revenue. I think that the Hilton project was a poorly executed agenda item. Something was lost in the translation of the project. I said yes to the project not because I thought it was perfect but because the Planning Commission did a good job of ferreting out the uncomfortable issues and the most serious impacts. To be perfectly honest, the Planning Commission got 85% of what they wanted and the fact that they were so upset because the council voted for something that was more than they approved will always bother me. I was a Planning Commissioner and if I took a project of that size before the council and they approved 85% of it I would consider that to be a victory. I said yes to The 9900 Wilshire Project because of the Hilton and I saw the Hilton as the most commercially viable of the two. I would never have taken the 9900 property out of play commercially if I didn’t think the Hilton was going to be approved in some form that they could build.
Speaking of building, where is the General Plan going?
I think there’s a miscommunication on the General Plan process. It’s not going to change significantly. It has seven elements all of which need to be reviewed. Once the vision is created then the important part is the zoning codes that go with it. I would be very surprised if the Planning Commission brought forward many changes that are material. I think the community is too wrapped in the General Plan, thinking there’s going to some big revelation. It’s just fine-tuning of the exiting General Plan; new things that have to be put into place like sustainability, updated housing, and environmental aspects. I advocated a smart growth General Plan, which tells a built out city like ours where our opportunities are and what areas shouldn’t be touched. Most people focus on height when it comes to the General Plan and it triggers the most emotion, but it’s not the most important. Because it’s taking so long it’s probably because large projects took over, and there were many changes in personnel that took priority. But the current General Plan was always in force. There was no downside to it, but it should have been wrapped up in 3-5 years. However I do think they’ll have it wrapped up by this summer and there won’t be any massive changes. However, that’s when the zoning starts and that’s a whole different thing.
Anything else you’d want to focus on in the coming year?
I think it’s very important for us to evaluate our real property, decide if there’s anything we should sell, swap, trade or buy to fit our needs in this economy. We need to evaluate our fees to make sure they are all legitimate, that posted fees are all being collected legitimately, and that our codes are being enforced. And we need to evaluate our personnel to make sure they are being used as efficiently as possible.
Are you concerned about the City’s current budget and reserves?
Yes I am. Because there isn’t going to be any more development. You can kiss development goodbye for at least another 18 months. Retail sales are also going to suffer and we’re not going to have a large revenue basis. I hope something gets built at the Hilton, because it will be one of the only large sources of revenue the City can count on going forward for now. We’ve approved projects all over the city and not one of them is being built.
Do you have any other concerns?
Yes. My other big concern is infrastructure. We cannot not invest in our infrastructure upgrades because we will pay a big price. So while it’s not very exciting to our residents to know that we’re going to have to spend money underground, we are. This is not the time to let our streets, roads, parks, and sidewalks down. They are our major real estate and we have to protect our investment.
If you retain your seat you’ll be working with at least one and potentially two new council members. How will you deal with that?
It’s important that we get people on board who really want to do the job. Just because someone has an anti-development opinion or disagreed with a council decision, that doesn’t make them a council member. There are many ingredients that go into making a good council member: leadership, integrity, experience. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We need intelligent, dedicated, hard-working, multi-tasking council members. We have to be careful that the resumes of those seeking the job have the required skills. It’s not enough to want the job; you have to be able to do it.
Why should the community re-elect Linda Briskman?
Everyone who knows me knows I love this community. I’ve invested in this community for over 20 years, from the day I got here. I have more to give and I can’t think of anything better to do with my time. It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve never used it for personal gain nor has any member of my family. I have no hidden agenda and whether someone agrees or disagrees with me they know they are going to get an informed, honest, opinion and I think I have a reputation for being a council member you can count on.
For more information on Linda Briskman's campaign, visit elect.briskman.net
The Beverly Hills Community News Project will be interviewing all 11 candidates running for the three open seats over the coming weeks. Please check back for more in-depth profile interviews
Barry Brucker Interview
Willie Brien Interview
Virginia Maas Interview
Nili Nathan Interview
Michael Hakim Interview
Fran Cohen Interview
Richard Stone Interview
John Mirisch Interview
Photo credit: courtesy
Seasoned veteran. Linda Briskman (center) with husband Gary and daughter Ashley. Briskman will enter her third consecutive term on the City Council if she retains her seat.
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