Kathy Reims appointed to Beverly Hills City Council

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By Gregory Cornfield / June 1, 2016

The Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday appointed former chair of the planning commission and 40-year resident Kathy Reims to the vacant seat left by Councilman Willie Brien, after a day filled with public interviews. The city council interviewed 24 candidates who applied for the appointment.

Mayor John Mirisch and the other council members were impressed with how many qualified applicants they had to choose from.

“I felt we had a lot of wonderful candidates,” the mayor said. “She was the best of the best.”

Mirisch added that he has known Reims as someone who has a high level of integrity and that she will do a great job.

“We’re a small community. I’m familiar with her work on the planning commission. I know she listens to all sides, she’s fair, independent, and she recognizes what makes Beverly Hills so special and unique.”

Each candidate was allowed three minutes for an opening statement, followed by questions from the city council. The city council selected two general questions to ask each candidate: What are your expectations for this “nine-month tour of duty” and what would you like to accomplish with it? And, as you look at the city, what do you think are the most critical problems and what are your solutions for them?

Individual questions were also asked and ranged from personal career history to urban and city planning measures. For example, Mirisch asked applicants if they believed skyscrapers belong in the city’s future urban planning considerations.

Brien’s, and thus Reims’, term ends with the March 2017 municipal election. The applications asked for essays, and also gave candidates the option to sign a pledge that they will not run for reelection in March 2017, which Reims signed. At a city council meeting earlier this month, members debated whether the pledge should be mandatory or included in applications because they could be giving appointees an advantage as incumbents running for reelection. However, they ultimately decided that it would be optional.

She would not be penalized by the city if she changed her mind. Reims was unavailable for comment by deadline.

“The departure of Council Member Willie Brien, along with his perspective and experience, leaves a significant void on the council for the next several months,” Reims wrote in her application essay. “I believe I could contribute to a smooth, temporary transition and the ongoing work of the city council until the election in March.”

Reims will be sworn in at the June 6 city council meeting. She is a retired property manager who has served on the city’s planning commission, the traffic and parking commission and is a current member of the budget review committee. Her other community activities include Beverly Hills Meals on Wheels, El Rodeo PTA, the West Hollywood Homeless Shelter and Friends of Beverly Hills Public Library.

“I’ve had the satisfaction of seeing a project I worked on develop into a great asset for the city, and the occasional disappointment of seeing one we could have done better,” Reims continued in her essay. “I’ve had the challenge of sitting down with residents and business owners on opposite sides of a contentious issue and the pleasure of working with them to come to a reasonable compromise.”

She also said she served on the planning commission during an “important period of growth and change for Beverly Hills” when they worked on a new General Plan and major developments in the city.

After the appointment, Mirisch was excited to point out that this is the first time in Beverly Hills’ 102-year history that the city council has a female majority.

If no candidate was selected, a special municipal election would have taken place as part of the Nov. 8 presidential election.

On May 25, the city drew applicants’ names randomly to determine the order in which candidates were interviewed.

The vacancy came up following Brien’s resignation, who moved to Houston to take a position at CHI St. Luke’s Health–Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.

To view the candidate applications, visit www.beverlyhills.org/candidates.

Applicants: