Fran Cohen: Architect of change
BEVERLY HILLS - Fran Cohen is the current chair of the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission, has lived in three US states and three different countries, and believes that her diverse background and experiences are what make her an ideal candidate for the Beverly Hills City Council.
Born in Iran, Cohen left the country in 1979 along with scores of others during the revolution. Since then, she has spent most of her life in the United States, except for a brief six month hiatus in Israel, where her husband went to teach.
"I pledge to have an open dialogue with the residents," she says across her large dining room table dotted with neatly stacked piles of campaign literature. "They can call me on my cell phone at any time. I will work very hard to use my knowledge and my experience to bring together the people and I think I have the skills necessary to do so."
Those skills include what Cohen calls her "vision and multidisciplinary background." Cohen possesses an undergraduate degree in architecture and a Masters in Urban Planning from MIT, as well as a Masters from the Graduate School of Management of Purdue University. "I've worked in several architectural and design firms," she says, "and I also worked as a planner and administrator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Offices and I've been on the architectural commission of Beverly Hills for four years."
So you believe being on the Architectural Commission is a good stepping-stone to the council?
Absolutely. I have learned a great deal about our city through the commission: the codes, the regulations, and I have come to know the staff and officials. This experience inspired me to run for the city council.
What do you feel are the top three issues facing the city and how would you address them?
My first plan is to preserve the quality of life in Beverly Hills. That means school safety, parks, city services etc. The total budget for the 2008-09 year is $408 million and we have about 35,000 residents in Beverly Hills. That'ss about $12,000 per resident per year in expenditure. This is a staggering amount of funds. In comparison, the City of Santa Monica spends about $4,000 per resident per year. So we should have three times the quality of life than Santa Monica residents. My objective is to preserve and maintain that based on a balanced budget. My second plan is create an economic commission. We have about 10 other commissions and the [economic commission] would be similar. It would be appointed by the City Council and be comprised of Beverly Hills residents who have expertise in finance, economics and business. They will be mandated to review the projects that go before the City Council.
Wouldn't another commission just be more red tape in what some see as an already too bureaucratic process?
I don't think so. The commissioners are there to analyze city-related issued and make recommendations so the council can make more informed decisions. A lot of people aren't sure of the economic impacts of projects on the city. This commission could bring more transparency to the council. I think we have great resources as far as the education and quality of our residents and we should tap into these resources.
What is your third issue?
I call it the Triple R (RRR) infrastructure plan: Repair, Restore, and Rehabilitate. The term infrastructure should not be taken lightly; it's not a buzzword. As an architect I know the critical importance of having a functioning infrastructure to deliver clean and safe domestic water and electricity and to prevent mudslides on hillside roads. We must make sure they function during emergencies such as fires and earthquakes.
Part of your platform includes finding new sources of funding for the city. What are some of your ideas?
The competition from surrounding cities shouldn't be underestimated. We're all looking to get funding for our cities. One of the sources, which I see that President-elect Obama speaks of, is the $1 trillion specifically for infrastructure. I'm hoping some of that money will come to our city.
Many people are going to base their vote on March 3 on how each candidate voted on Measure H. How did you vote and why?
Unfortunately the Measure divided our community, and I believe now at this point, that Measure H has won. We should accommodate [it] and go forward with the other issues facing our city and try to resolve those.
What are your views on development and the current General Plan?
I haven't had the chance to review the General Plan in detail, but in general I believe that we should follow the General Plan of the city. I just want to make the best decision for our community and I will read it in detail, in terms of the seven sections that exist as part of the plan. In terms of commercial developments, what I'd like to see after being on the Architectural Commission for four years is more reuse of existing commercial buildings; rehabilitate and reuse them. About two and half years ago, we had a migration from Pacific Design Center merchants, who occupied spaces along Wilshire, Olympic and Robertson in Beverly Hills. They renovated those buildings and I would like to see more of that especially in that section of town. I'd like to see more wholesale home and furnishing stores. Also, in the past few years, my commission tried to accommodate flagship stores outside the business triangle. We had Lisa Klein move to South Beverly Drive and convert a private parking space into retail and office space. We also had [fashion designer] James Perse come to North Canon with beautiful renovations. Now we see Anthropologie moving from North Beverly to South Beverly next to California Pizza Kitchen. They've taken over both stories of that old office building. So I really hope to see more reuse of these buildings and possibly converting office space into retail rental space.
If your campaign had a bumper sticker or a slogan what would it say?
I must be ahead of the curve because I already have one: We can with Fran.
For more information on Fran Cohen's campaign, visit www.francohen.com
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
Linda Briskman Interview
Willie Brien Interview
Virginia Maas Interview
Nili Nathan Interview
Michael Hakim Interview
Richard Stone Interview
John Mirisch Interview
Born in Iran, Cohen left the country in 1979 along with scores of others during the revolution. Since then, she has spent most of her life in the United States, except for a brief six month hiatus in Israel, where her husband went to teach.
"I pledge to have an open dialogue with the residents," she says across her large dining room table dotted with neatly stacked piles of campaign literature. "They can call me on my cell phone at any time. I will work very hard to use my knowledge and my experience to bring together the people and I think I have the skills necessary to do so."
Those skills include what Cohen calls her "vision and multidisciplinary background." Cohen possesses an undergraduate degree in architecture and a Masters in Urban Planning from MIT, as well as a Masters from the Graduate School of Management of Purdue University. "I've worked in several architectural and design firms," she says, "and I also worked as a planner and administrator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Offices and I've been on the architectural commission of Beverly Hills for four years."
So you believe being on the Architectural Commission is a good stepping-stone to the council?
Absolutely. I have learned a great deal about our city through the commission: the codes, the regulations, and I have come to know the staff and officials. This experience inspired me to run for the city council.
What do you feel are the top three issues facing the city and how would you address them?
My first plan is to preserve the quality of life in Beverly Hills. That means school safety, parks, city services etc. The total budget for the 2008-09 year is $408 million and we have about 35,000 residents in Beverly Hills. That'ss about $12,000 per resident per year in expenditure. This is a staggering amount of funds. In comparison, the City of Santa Monica spends about $4,000 per resident per year. So we should have three times the quality of life than Santa Monica residents. My objective is to preserve and maintain that based on a balanced budget. My second plan is create an economic commission. We have about 10 other commissions and the [economic commission] would be similar. It would be appointed by the City Council and be comprised of Beverly Hills residents who have expertise in finance, economics and business. They will be mandated to review the projects that go before the City Council.
Wouldn't another commission just be more red tape in what some see as an already too bureaucratic process?
I don't think so. The commissioners are there to analyze city-related issued and make recommendations so the council can make more informed decisions. A lot of people aren't sure of the economic impacts of projects on the city. This commission could bring more transparency to the council. I think we have great resources as far as the education and quality of our residents and we should tap into these resources.
What is your third issue?
I call it the Triple R (RRR) infrastructure plan: Repair, Restore, and Rehabilitate. The term infrastructure should not be taken lightly; it's not a buzzword. As an architect I know the critical importance of having a functioning infrastructure to deliver clean and safe domestic water and electricity and to prevent mudslides on hillside roads. We must make sure they function during emergencies such as fires and earthquakes.
Part of your platform includes finding new sources of funding for the city. What are some of your ideas?
The competition from surrounding cities shouldn't be underestimated. We're all looking to get funding for our cities. One of the sources, which I see that President-elect Obama speaks of, is the $1 trillion specifically for infrastructure. I'm hoping some of that money will come to our city.
Many people are going to base their vote on March 3 on how each candidate voted on Measure H. How did you vote and why?
Unfortunately the Measure divided our community, and I believe now at this point, that Measure H has won. We should accommodate [it] and go forward with the other issues facing our city and try to resolve those.
What are your views on development and the current General Plan?
I haven't had the chance to review the General Plan in detail, but in general I believe that we should follow the General Plan of the city. I just want to make the best decision for our community and I will read it in detail, in terms of the seven sections that exist as part of the plan. In terms of commercial developments, what I'd like to see after being on the Architectural Commission for four years is more reuse of existing commercial buildings; rehabilitate and reuse them. About two and half years ago, we had a migration from Pacific Design Center merchants, who occupied spaces along Wilshire, Olympic and Robertson in Beverly Hills. They renovated those buildings and I would like to see more of that especially in that section of town. I'd like to see more wholesale home and furnishing stores. Also, in the past few years, my commission tried to accommodate flagship stores outside the business triangle. We had Lisa Klein move to South Beverly Drive and convert a private parking space into retail and office space. We also had [fashion designer] James Perse come to North Canon with beautiful renovations. Now we see Anthropologie moving from North Beverly to South Beverly next to California Pizza Kitchen. They've taken over both stories of that old office building. So I really hope to see more reuse of these buildings and possibly converting office space into retail rental space.
If your campaign had a bumper sticker or a slogan what would it say?
I must be ahead of the curve because I already have one: We can with Fran.
For more information on Fran Cohen's campaign, visit www.francohen.com
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
Linda Briskman Interview
Willie Brien Interview
Virginia Maas Interview
Nili Nathan Interview
Michael Hakim Interview
Richard Stone Interview
John Mirisch Interview
Photo credit: Courtesy
We can with Fran. Beverly Hills Architectural Commission Chair Fran Cohen, believes she has both the vision and the background to be on the City Council
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