John A. Mirisch
73rd, 76th, and 79th Mayor of Beverly Hills
Former
In office
March 27, 2013 (2013-03-27) – February 25, 2014 (2014-02-25)
Preceded byWilliam W. Brien
Succeeded byLili Bosse
In office
March 2016 (2016-03) – March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28)
Preceded byJulian Gold
Succeeded byLili Bosse
In office
March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20) – March 31, 2020 (2020-03-31)
Preceded byJulian Gold
Succeeded byLester Friedman
Personal details
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican[1]
Relations
Children2
ProfessionPolitician

John A. Mirisch is an American politician and former film studio executive. He is currently a city council member of Beverly Hills, California. He also served as mayor from 2013 to 2014, from 2016 to 2017, and from 2019 to 2020.

Early life

John A. Mirisch was born to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills.[2][3] He has a brother and a step-sister, the daughter of his mother's second husband Leonard Goldberg.[3] His grandfather, Harold Mirisch, alongside his great-uncles Walter Mirisch (1921–2023) and Marvin Mirisch (1918–2002), founded the Mirisch Company in 1957.[2][3] He attended Hawthorne Elementary and Beverly Hills High School.[2] He graduated from Yale University magna cum laude in 1985.[2]

Career

Mirisch began his career at 20th Century Fox.[2] He later worked as managing director of the Austrian office of United International Pictures, following by the Swedish office.[2] He served on the boards of the Austrian and Swedish Film Distributors' Associations and the Swedish Academy Awards Selection Committee.[2] He worked as an executive both at IMAX and at Paramount Pictures.[3]

Mirisch was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009.[4] As councilor, he opposed plans to annex Holmby Hills, Los Angeles as part of the city of Beverly Hills.[5] He served as vice mayor of Beverly Hills in 2012, and became mayor for the first time in 2013.[3][6][7][8][9]

During his tenure as mayor, Mirisch established the Sunshine Task Force to improve local governmental transparency and public participation.[3] He has also spearheaded the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission to honor the city's rich history and architectural legacy.[3] His first term ended in March 2014, when Lili Bosse was sworn in as mayor.[10]

Mirisch is a vocal opponent of degrading local government authority to determine residential zoning, leading to conflict with YIMBY activists.[11]

Mirisch served his second term as mayor from March 2016 to March 2017[12] and began his third term as mayor in March 2019.

Personal life

Mirisch has two sons.[3] He is a member of the Geelong Football Club of the Australian Football League.[3] He is a dual Swedish-American citizen and also a citizen of Canada.[3]

In 2016, the city of Beverly Hills was ordered to pay $9,357 in legal fees to a journalist who filed suit for release of police records related to alleged domestic abuse by Mirisch. The records included incident reports from police visits to Mirisch's home.[13] An affidavit filed by Magdalena Mirisch for a restraining order during divorce proceedings in 2011 claimed that Mirisch emotionally abused her and was neglectful toward their son.[14]

In the next election for Beverly Hills City Council on March 5, 2017, Mirisch was re-elected, placing first in a field of eight candidates.

References

  1. ^ "Beverly Hills mayor John Mirisch booted from 26th Senate District ballot, may appeal". Daily Breeze. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Campaign website Archived 2013-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The City of Beverly Hills Mayor and Council Members
  4. ^ Martha Groves, Mirisch elected to Beverly Hills City Council, The Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2009
  5. ^ Martha Groves, Holmby Hills seeks annexation by Beverly Hills over potholes, The Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2012
  6. ^ Matt Lopez, Vice Mayor John Mirisch Officially Files Papers for Beverly Hills City Council Re-Election, The Beverly Hills Courier, November 6, 2012
  7. ^ Matt Lopez, John Mirisch Installed As Beverly Hills Mayor At 2013 City Council Installation Ceremony Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Beverly Hills Courier, March 27, 2013
  8. ^ Marla Schevker, Matt Lopez and Laura Coleman, John Mirisch Wins Top Spot In Beverly Hills City Council Race Archived 2014-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, The Beverly Hills Courier, March 7, 2013
  9. ^ Matt Lopez, John Mirisch Ready to Lead As Mayor of Beverly Hills Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, The Beverly Hills Courier, March 21, 2013
  10. ^ Laura Coleman, Beverly Hills News – John Mirisch Reflects On His Term As City’s Mayor Archived 2014-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Beverly Hills Courier, March 20, 2014
  11. ^ Mirisch, John (September 15, 2021). "The one element missing from the discussion of housing: Tolerance". CalMatters. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Talbot, Victoria (March 31, 2017). "John Mirisch Looks Back On His Year As Mayor" (PDF). The Beverly Hills Courier. Vol. LI, no. 13. pp. 4, 27. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  13. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 2016-10-03.
  14. ^ "Mayor Sam's Sister City - Home of Los Angeles Politics: The Politics of Subways gets nasty in Beverly Hills".
Political offices Preceded byWilliam W. Brien Mayor of Beverly Hills, California 2013–2014 Succeeded byLili Bosse Preceded byJulian Gold Mayor of Beverly Hills, California 2016–2017 Succeeded byLili Bosse
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