Four candidates vie for three seats on the Hidden Hills City Council

By John Loesing Acorn Staff Writer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn VOTING ON TUESDAY-Drivers exit from Hidden Hills on Monday. Registered voters in the municipality will decide two seats on the Hidden Hills City Council on Election Day, Tues., March 4.

The white, three-rail fence surrounding the bucolic equestrian community of Hidden Hills can keep the horses in, but it can’t keep the politics out.

On March 4, four city council candidates will compete for three open seats in the small, affluent enclave east of Calabasas.

No rancorous issues dog the debate. No dirty tricks plague the campaign. The biggest question facing this city council is whether the homeowners’ association is allowed to park their maintenance tractors next to the riding ring.

Still, the candidates have definite opinions about the future of their beloved community.

Founded in 1961, Hidden Hills is one of the oldest communities in Los Angeles County, yet remains one of its smallest and most pristine. All of the council candidates would like to keep it that way.

"We are truly citizen politicians," said Stuart Siegel, a nine-year council veteran who’s running for another four-year term.

Don’t be fooled by the city’s laid back nature, Siegel said. Hidden Hills recently become more proactive, among other things, in trying to solve the area’s traffic problem.

Siegel said he also wants to form a regional emergency services group that takes a more serious approach to disaster response.

"We want to make sure that what we’re doing right now, which is mainly staffed by volunteers, is really up to snuff," said the 57-year-old former mayor.

Many of the residents who live behind the town gates own their own horses and drive expensive cars, but they also enjoy the simplicity of an evening walk as they can savor the peace and quiet that separates them from the nearby San Fernando Valley.

"My philosophy—and I practice it—is to keep it as much rural and equestrian as possible," said Mayor Monty Fisher, the town’s 64-year-old mayor.

Fisher, who owns his own air conditioning and heating company, said he’s proud that since he joined the council in 1994 the city has been able to eliminate its 10 percent utility users’ tax and still maintain a healthy budget.

"The consensus was we had built up enough money and didn’t need it more," said Fisher, who’s seeking a third term in office.

"The state of the city is it’s very solvent," Fisher said. "We’ve watched it very carefully."

In Hidden Hills, the government chores are shared between the city council and the Hidden Hills Community Association, the city’s homeowner group. Because the homeowners pay for many services themselves, such as street maintenance, the city’s budget has been able to stay in the black—$4 million in the black, to be exact.

"We’re kind of unique in that we have a homeowners’ association and a city that work side-by-side in accomplishing things," said candidate Ronald Berg, a 50-year-old attorney who was elected to the council in 1997 and served as mayor for two years.

Unlike other cities in the area, Hidden Hills is taking no position in the fight against Ahmanson Ranch. That doesn’t mean, Berg said, that the Hidden Hills residents should live in a cave.

"We’ve become very active in the surrounding community, whereas prior to the time that I was mayor, we were somewhat looking at ourselves and not the community beyond us," he said.

Siegel agreed that times have changed. Whether it’s in front of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors or the California state Assembly, Hidden Hills and its tiny cadre of politicians aren’t afraid to stand up.

"Maybe we get a lot of respect because we’re like the mouse that roared," Siegel said.

The only challenger in the race is Larry Klein, a local insurance administrator who said his goal is to increase communication inside the city.

"In Hidden Hills, with big homes, you may not know your neighbor," said Klein, 55. "I propose a program called ‘Lights and Lemonade,’ a neighborhood welcome party two- to four-times ayear on Sunday. Different neighbors would be host, and you could just go over and meet your neighbors."

Klein said the city as a whole needs to be more neighborly and work closer with the cities of Los Angeles, Calabasas and Agoura Hills.

A member of the Las Virgenes Optimist Club for 18 years, Klein said he’s confident that Hidden Hills can remain the best little town in Los Angeles County.

Polls on next Tues., March 4 open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Because the Hidden Hills City Council is elected at large, voters can select as many as three of the four candidates on their ballots.