Kuperberg honored for service as mayor

By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

As part of the "changing of the guard" ceremony during the Agoura Hills reorganization meeting, outgoing Mayor Dan Kuperberg was honored for his year of service. Kuperberg had completed his second term as mayor of Agoura Hills.

Representatives from the offices of state Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, the cities of Calabasas and Westlake Village, the League of California Cities, the Las Virgenes Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Fire Department attended the meeting to recognize Kuperberg for his year of service. Several former mayors of Agoura Hills also attended the event. A presentation of plaques and certificates to Kuperberg was followed by remarks from incoming mayor, Ed Corridori.

Corridori said that Kuperberg, always a friend of youth, had started a scholarship program at Agoura High School. Corridori complimented Kuperberg, who was elected to the city council in 1995, on being the driving force behind the recently approved First Time Homebuyer Program and the Public Workers Housing Program, both of which subsidize down payments through city redevelopment funds. Corridori added that Kuperberg is committed to open space and kept open space issues in the forefront.

Kuperberg said, "Twenty-two years ago tonight, Agoura Hills became an incorporated city. . . . We’ve sure come a long way from Fran’s kitchen." (Fran Pavley was the first mayor of Agoura Hills.)

Kuperberg credited the work and leadership of all city council members. He quoted Adlai Stevenson: "What unites us is deeper than what divides us."

Kuperberg presented a slide show produced by his son, Ethan, highlighting events that marked 2004 as such a successful year. The show included pictures of work at the Kanan interchange, the opening of the historic Reyes Adobe and a statistical graph demonstrating that the overall crime level was down compared to 2003.

Former Agoura Hills Mayor Louise Rishoff, who now works with Pavley, said that Kuperberg was full of bright ideas. "(Dan) had an extraordinary year of leadership." She said that Kuperberg had made the protection of open space a priority.

Susan Nissman, a representative from Yaroslavsky’s office, recognized Kuperberg for his support of the ridgeline ordinance, which restricts development in the mountains. "Your leadership is infectious," she said.

Calabasas Councilmember and League of California Cities President Dennis Washburn said that Kuperberg demonstrated outstanding leadership, adding that he was grateful for the outgoing mayor’s work on regional issues. (Earlier in the year, Kuperberg conducted the Mayor’s Business Roundtable, which centered on tourism and collaboration between neighboring cities, restaurants and hotels.)

During one of the worst fiscal crises in California, Kuperberg presided over the city with a balanced budget, reducing spending but remaining committed to city improvements, including the Kanan interchange project. The majority of the funding for the Kanan interchange was obtained through grants and from traffic-improvement funds.