At her inaugural address on April 1, Sharona Nazarian, Beverly Hills’ newly appointed mayor, laid out nearly a dozen new initiatives and efforts she hopes to implement in the coming year. They range from increasing the involvement of youth leaders to updating public safety technology.
Speaking to the Courier on April 3, Nazarian noted that her plans stem from a deeply held belief in a well-rounded approach to leadership and community.
“I believe in holistic approaches to everything, whether it’s for mental health, whether it’s for dealing with our unhoused, whether it’s dealing with our governance,” she said. “I believe that Beverly Hills is the most amazing city in the world, and I want us to shine.”
This belief is baked into Nazarian’s professional background. Having earned a Doctor of Psychology from Alliance University with an emphasis on multicultural psychology, much of her early work involved issues related to wellness and mental health.
From 2004 to 2013, she sat on the board of the Maple Counseling Center, which offers low-cost mental health services to those who need it. Nazarian has also worked at the Mental Health Center at California State University, Northridge.
Drawing on those experiences and more, she hopes to bring moments of inspiration and unity to the community as well as to the City Council.
“We live in such a divided world, and it’s really important to find clarity and ground ourselves,” she said. “[It] could be little things that help us to inspire one another, helps us to give, to just start off our days in a positive way and give positive light and energy to community members … to look at areas that we’re close, areas we are able to come together and find solidarity, find common ground.”
As part of that effort, Nazarian envisions possibly inviting some of Beverly Hills’ many faith leaders, or others with an inspiring message, to speak briefly at City Council meetings.
“About a minute before our meeting starts, right after the flag salute, we’ll ask different people who want to come and … talk about something inspiring,” she said.
The idea came to her as the Palisades and Eaton Fires were raging through Los Angeles earlier this year and many residents didn’t know where to turn to find comfort.
“Everybody was so distraught, and I just said, ‘We all need to just take a moment and breathe,'” Nazarian said. “It was shocking how many people that resonated with … we need a reminder to go back to the basics and the simple things in life.”
One such simple pleasure is the uniting of generations. Nazarian hopes to host events in the city at which active seniors and young adults can come together to share knowledge; technology help from the younger cohort, perhaps, and life’s wisdom from the elder.
“When I was younger, I assisted with our active adults and our elders and really learned from them,” she said. “And I think that’s something that’s really missing in the world today, just respecting and honoring our elders, but also listening to them. They have so much to offer, and we need to be able to give them the space to interact with our kids.”
Some of her other efforts involve public safety. Recalling the fear many locals felt in the wake of crimes committed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Nazarian felt strongly that Beverly Hills needed another lever to pull to ensure there would be no repeat of those incidents.
“Our city was being targeted,” she said. “With the previous District Attorney, we had a very hard time holding criminals accountable.”
In response, she began an effort that would allow Beverly Hills to prosecute state law misdemeanors. If permitted, city officials would be granted the authority to prosecute crimes that would otherwise fall under the jurisdiction of the L.A. District Attorney, should he decide not to prosecute them.
“We’re in the process of finalizing that request,” she said. “District Attorney Hochman is doing a great job of holding criminals accountable, and he’s prosecuting. But if we were in a situation where the L.A. County District Attorney did not want to prosecute, this would give Beverly Hills that leverage … it’s a proactive approach to be able to not be the target of unwarranted attacks.”
For now, however, Nazarian is still getting settled in her new role. The turnout for her installation was so large that lines of hopeful attendees snaked down several city blocks. In the week since, she’s been busy with official duties, including meeting with organizers of LA28, the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
On April 3, still recovering from the celebrations, she was focused on remaining present and deliberate in her work.
After all, she said, “It’s only day two.”
