On the evening of March 3, after months of back-to-back campaign events and debates, two of the six candidates running for Beverly Hills City Council were announced victorious: Lili Bosse and Dr. Julian Gold. With the majority of votes counted at press time, Bosse garnered 38.27 percent of the vote, with 3,281 ballots cast in her favor. Gold earned 28.16 percent of the vote, with 2,414 votes. Incumbents Bosse and Gold were both first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015. This election marks the start of their third terms on the council.
In addition to Bosse and Gold, four other candidates made a bid for the two open City Council seats: technologist Robin Rowe, Rabbi Sidney “Simcha” Green, Lori Greene Gordon, and write-in candidate Aimee Zeltzer. Bosse, Gold and Gordon held election night parties.
Bosse’s event, decorated with orange balloons, orange tablecloths and flowers, displayed dozens of cakes from her supporters, an array of food and two open bars. Around 8:45 p.m., hundreds of people were in the crowd when Bosse took the microphone and stepped onto the stage. Her campaign manager, Annette Saleh, told the room to look at the TV screen which displayed her lead, and claimed victory. The crowd erupted in cheers and the DJ proceeded by playing Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Bosse’s overwhelming number of supporters hugged and congratulated her, before dancing the night away. “I think that people just felt that I’m somebody who genuinely really loves the City,” Bosse told the Courier. “It is truly the fiber of who I am. Beverly Hills is me. I love the City with every ounce of who I am, and I think that people feel it. I am so excited. I am truly on the cloud and so grateful.” When asked about the first initiative Bosse plans on getting started with, she told the Courier, “The first thing is my ‘Just in Case’ initiative. Especially now, with the Coronavirus, I really believe that we, as a City, need to be prepared for everything. Whether it’s an earthquake, whether it’s a fire, whether it’s something like an epidemic. I want our City to be the most prepared City in the world.” As of March 5, Bosse led with 38.35 percent of the votes followed by Gold with 28.20 percent.
Gold held his election party at his own house, which was decorated in his green and gold campaign colors. Beautiful food platters and dessert trays were spread out on a dining table for guests to enjoy. The Courier spoke to Gold after the polling numbers came in, who said, “Who would have guessed how this journey has unfolded? Take a look out there and take a look at a room like this.”
“I mean, young, old, all kinds of people who are here to support me. I’m very appreciative,” Gold continued.
Before talking about initiatives he plans on getting started with, Gold told the Courier, “I’d like to start by recognizing we live in a City that is privileged to have our police and fire department, public services, and paved roads. Most of the world wants to be here, where 99 percent of our lives are pretty good. Not that we can’t do better, but let’s start from this place where we recognize we are privileged.”
In March of 2019, Gold spearheaded the Nurse Practitioner Program, an innovative and specialized Emergency Medical Service. Now that he has been re-elected, Gold plans on expanding that program. “People have been telling me stories about how the nurse practitioner program has made a difference in their life,” Gold told the Courier. “And I realized that this was a good idea, but I didn’t realize how good an idea. We need to take this and make it bigger because it’s something that has a direct impact on the quality of life of our residents.”
Gold said his experience from serving the past two terms has informed much of his future plans. “I think what we do always builds on what came before. We don’t create things de novo, which means new in the medical world,” said Gold. “We take our understanding of what is approaching, and we put it together in a way that allows us to manage the future. I think we have to be clear that we respect our past, but we also have to get clear that we are moving into a new world.”
As of March 5, Lori Greene Gordon had received 23.02 percent of the vote, Sidney Green had 5.22 percent, and Robin Rowe had 5.21 percent of the votes in the Beverly Hills City Council election. Although she didn’t win, Gordon ran a strong campaign and remains hopeful. In an interview with the Courier, Gordon said, “I am a member of the Planning Commission and there are a lot of major developments that are going to be coming down to the Planning Commission first, before going to the City Council. So, there’s much work in the City to be done.”
