BEVERLY HILLS : Council Hopefuls Will Limit Campaign Spending

Under an agreement with the Beverly Hills League of Women Voters, the eight candidates for the two open City Council seats have agreed to limit their campaign expenditures to no more than $60,000.

League president Dorothy Kaufman said candidates had spent more than $100,000 in past elections. The limit reflects a $10,000 inflationary increase over the 1992 restriction on expenses, which typically cover campaign materials, mailing and event costs.

Contenders in the April 12 election include three first-time candidates and an incumbent. The winners will serve four-year terms.

Candidates’ forums have been scheduled within the next two months.

The first forum, a brunch, will be hosted by the renters group Concern for Tenants Rights at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Roxbury Park auditorium, 471 S. Roxbury Drive. Forums are also planned in March by the League of Women Voters and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.

First-time candidates are: Alan Robert Block, 47, an attorney; Les Bronte, 58, former Chamber of Commerce president, and MeraLee Goldman, a former planning commissioner.

Second-time candidates are Mary Levin Cutler, 60, a community activist; Bernie Hecht, a former councilman who lost his bid for reelection in 1992; Trisha Roth, 48, a pediatrician and community health advocate, and Herm Shultz, 71, a community activist who is president of Concern for Tenants Rights of Beverly Hills.

Incumbent Robert K. Tanenbaum, 51, a trial lawyer, is seeking a third term on the council.