Politicians Hard to Find in Hidden Hills

What if they planned an election but nobody ran?

That’s what’s happened in Hidden Hills, where the last two elections have been canceled for lack of interest--or challengers.

Mayor Kathleen D. Bartizal and Mayor Pro Tem H. Brian Herdeg, a dentist, were the only two people to seek City Council seats in today’s canceled election.

So the council, as permitted by state law, appointed Bartizal and Herdeg to the posts.

“Talk about apathy. Nobody else even picked up filing papers,” said Bartizal, a mother of three and wife of a computer company owner.

The 1.4-square-mile gated city of 2,000 at the western edge of the San Fernando Valley just doesn’t have any searing issues, said Bartizal, who was elected in April, 1984--the last time an election was held.

Bartizal beat her opponent by one vote in that election, which lured 183 of the city’s 1,183 registered voters to the polls, she said.

Bartizal said she isn’t quite sure why the council positions have such low appeal, unless it’s because of the long hours for no pay.

“We even bought our own breakfast last week when we went out to breakfast” with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, Bartizal said.

In February, 1986, only three people filed for three council vacancies. The City Council extended the filing deadline, then gave up and appointed the three would-be candidates.

Hidden Hills is an untypical city in ways other than its election behavior. The city has more bridle paths than roads and the average sale price of its homes was $788,000 last year, said Kim Commons, president of HomeStar Realty, the only business in Hidden Hills.

The Hidden Hills Community Assn., which shares a building with city hall offices, is said to be as powerful, or more powerful, than city government. It has a bigger budget: nearly $1 million compared to the city’s $600,000, said Paul Gilbert, a stock broker and association president.

The association owns and maintains the streets. Anyone planning to build or grade in the city must get permission of the association as well as the city. Membership in the association is mandatory for Hidden Hills residents, Gilbert said.

Council members have spent hours debating such issues as whether a camera surveillance system at the city’s front and back gates would photograph faces as well as the license plates of drivers, or whether the wife of former resident John Davidson, the actor-singer, could have lights on her tennis court. She got around the law by claiming the lights were for her back-yard trampoline.