Rebecca Pynoos for Beverly Hills

Public safety is paramount. It is the number one priority.

Our families, friends, children, and grandchildren must continue to feel safe in our neighborhoods and secure in their homes from Trousdale to the Southeast. There is nothing more important.

• Fully support and properly resource our Police and Fire Departments.

• Explore expansion for our Police Department that has outgrown their space to modernize an enhanced station to meet current and future demands

• Strengthen coordination between public safety departments and community stakeholders.

• Ensure public safety planning keeps pace with new development and Metro expansion.

• Clearly disseminate information to residents
  

Commitment: Safety first — always.

While planning responsibly for the future, we must preserve what makes Beverly Hills special.

• Uphold neighborhood character and architectural integrity.

• Ensure development, outside of State Housing mandates, aligns with the General Plan.

• Restore Planning Commission review of Development Agreements for transparency and consistency.

• Bring in new projects that enhance city offerings, while valuing resident input

Commitment: Protect our legacy while planning for tomorrow.

Residents deserve clear communication about what is happening — and why. 

• Provide publicized concise, understandable reporting on major initiatives.

• Provide clear outreach and education about new state housing laws and policies so residents understand how they impact our city before projects show up at their doorsteps, like Builders Remedy and SB 79

• Restore meaningful public participation, including full three-minute public comment at both City Council and School Board meetings. This should be standard to welcome public engagement and participation.

• Actively use City communication channels to focus more on promotion of city information, and less self promotion

Commitment: No surprises. No hidden processes. An informed community.

When residents ask, “How much does that cost?” and “How are we paying for that?” — they deserve answers.

• Assign individual Council oversight responsibility for major departments and initiatives.

• Require an internal feasibility review before engaging outside consultants, including allocating appropriate staff time to assess whether a project is viable, necessary, and aligned with full Council priorities.

• Develop a formal process to close out or formally sunset inactive projects.

• Publish real-time, accessible tracking of major projects and spending, so residents can track city spending as they would their own bank accounts

• Implement rotating zero-based budgeting reviews.

• Responsibly manage the city’s $662 million operating budget — spending wisely and strategically, not extravagantly.

• Use independent investigators when necessary — rather than creating permanent bureaucracy — to ensure integrity and performance and true accountability

Commitment: Clear responsibility. Clear reporting. Responsible spending.

• Identify cost controls and efficiency improvements.

• Evaluate revenue potential from underutilized City-owned property.

• Provide stronger direction and measurable goals for financial advisory committees.

• Bring back efficiencies for Blue Ribbon Committee and Sunshine Task Force

Commitment: Fiscal discipline

A strong Beverly Hills includes residents at every stage of life.

• Support renters, seniors, and families by protecting quality-of-life services residents depend on daily. 

• Renters are being displaced for new development projects, especially our older adult community. Our Rent Stabilization Office should help residents in their initial housing search - outsourcing to Bet Tzedek is not enough.

• Ensure city services and programs reflect residents’ changing needs and priorities. Keep our Community Services division strong to offer a good range of current programs for children and adults to engage in.

• Keep neighborhoods safe, accessible, and livable for all generations. This includes bringing back family friendly restaurant options.

Commitment: A city that works for longtime residents and future generations alike.

Our commercial vitality should extend throughout the City.

• Commit to working directly with our real estate community to foster vibrant, resident-serving retail at a range of price points.

• Very important high end retailers make significant crucial investments in our city, as a luxury capital of the world, that in turn, help us provide a superb level of public and emergency services. We should support them, while adding to our portfolio of offerings.

• Focus attention on revitalizing La Cienega, Robertson, Wilshire, Olympic, and other commercial corridors.

• Foster relationships that directly help support small businesses and help create new ones.

• Be proactive in shaping our community, especially where we have control in city owned properties.

Commitment: Vibrant neighborhoods across Beverly Hills — not just a single shopping district.

La Cienega deserves focused attention.

• Shape what we can of the area through thoughtful planning that includes residents in the discussion.

• Strengthen public safety.

• A station-area safety plan (BHPD deployment, lighting, retail opportunities, streetscape improvements all lead to a safer space).

• Curb and traffic management around Wilshire, Beverly Dr, La Cienega approaches (deliveries, rideshare, shuttles).

• Service integration (MicroTransit study is stalled and shelved - focus on utilizing city trolley with frequency timed to peak rail time as a pilot program).

• Enhance pedestrian improvements.

• Support local retail for residents and visitors via Metro — not a continued sole focus on Rodeo Drive. The City is leaving money on the table and a missed once in a lifetime opportunity to proactively enhance the area for long time residents and visitors looking for market, restaurant and retail within walking distance of the Metro.

Commitment: Intentional planning, not piecemeal development.

Beverly Hills must have an active seat at the table. We need a city council member who is a contemporary of new state legislators to best advocate for the needs of our city - and best represent it in Sacramento.

We must:

• Build meaningful relationships with regional and state leaders.

• Advocate directly and consistently — a lobbyist in Sacramento is not enough.

• Engage early in major policy discussions that will affect Beverly Hills for decades. In 2029, we will have the next Regional Housing Needs Assessment. We need to advocate what makes sense given our demographics and land availability. We need someone who understands this - who can best advocate for our community. 

Commitment: Representation that advocates, prepares and builds bridges

Our Police, Fire Department, and Schools are pillars of our community. Our community thrives when our students and families succeed and feel supported.

Through the Joint Powers Agreement and property taxes, we help finance our schools. The JPA was the innovative vision of former Mayor Vicki Reynolds to fund joint services. However, negative press about school decisions and lawsuits takes away from the wonderful work of our amazing teachers, students and great strides of our School Board - and makes accountability essential.

• Expect ethical leadership and transparency.

• Public leaders must uphold Beverly Hills’ standards of tolerance and integrity.

• There are serious concerns about antisemitism and racism that cannot go unaddressed. We must address this, Council and School Board, together in partnership to ensure our community is one where everyone feels valued, welcomed, and included. The strongest cities foster belonging, pride, joy, and a true spirit of cooperation. Let’s restore that sense of unity in Beverly Hills—for every resident. Not only is this morally prudent - it is legally so. The City and Schools have major lawsuits. We must come together to address this as a united community.

• On Council and School Board, a focus on real solutions for our community, not on taking sides, results over rhetoric.

• Ensure accountability where public funding is involved.

Commitment: High standards for our selves and every institution we support.

• Retain independent legal counsel when conflicts of interest arise.

• Ensure litigation strategy serves the City’s best interests.

• Protect taxpayer dollars from unnecessary exposure.

• Address head on systemic issues of racism in our city, not only a major moral issue no one is addressing, but a major legal liability to the City

Commitment: Independent judgment. Responsible risk management.

Our city is fortunate to retain incredibly hardworking and dedicated staff at every level across our 12 Departments. I’ve been fortunate to work with many of our staff for the last 14 years. As one of five Councilmembers, I will work to ensure our city staff are both heard and supported throughout their careers.

• Meet frontline needs: Ensure Public Works, Community Development, Code Enforcement, Community Services, Library, and administrative staff have modern tools, adequate staffing, and strong leadership support.

• Prioritize public safety support: Continue investing in Police and Fire training, safety resources, and wellness programs to sustain high performance and resilience.

• Strengthen supervisors and managers: Provide leadership development, clear expectations aligned with City Council priorities, and goals of department heads

• Ensure strategic executive leadership: Promote transparency, cross-department collaboration, and steady organizational direction.

• Invest in growth and retention: Offer competitive compensation, meaningful professional development that strengthens skills, and clear opportunities for job mobility so employees can build long-term careers within the City.

• Foster a culture of belonging: Create an environment where employees at every level feel supported, heard, and part of the Beverly Hills family.

Our city’s rich history is under-told, limiting engagement beyond parks and luxury retail.

With modest investment in volunteer commission led art and walking tours—especially before the World Cup and Olympics—we can share Beverly Hills’ full story and drive lasting cultural and economic impact.

• It’s not always popular to confront difficult truths — but leadership isn’t just about protecting comfort; it’s about addressing harm.

• Racism has been a persistent concern in our community, with lawsuits reflecting serious issues and harm that deserves real attention.

• Community members have shared experiences of racism that has gone ignored - and it must be acknowledged and addressed.

• At the same time, the City has failed these members of our community — showing how quickly it can come together around other important causes and recognitions, but not theirs.

• This is an opportunity to engage more directly and consistently on issues

• Beverly Hills faces real challenges — and avoiding difficult conversations only allows problems to persist.

  Commitment: engage our community in the education and work to address biases and racism - and make Beverly Hills fairer, and better for everyone