Council Candidates Address City Issues

In a city where the homeowners association has power almost equal to the City Council’s, three candidates for two spots on the legislative body are running a relatively low-key race.

But the candidates in Tuesday’s election said the issues the City Council faces are similar to those of their larger neighbors: preventing crime, balancing the budget and holding the reins on development.

Challenger and five-year Hidden Hills resident Ron Berg, 44, has already served the maximum two terms on the homeowners association board. The City Council, he said, is the next logical step in local public service.

He said other cities have recently grappled with one issue the city will face: whether it will be able to continue to levy its utility tax. The state Supreme Court upheld a law requiring that new local taxes be approved by two-thirds of the voters, and cities now await word on whether the ruling is retroactive.

“Depending on the outcome, it will certainly impact our budgetary matters here,” Berg said.

Larry Gabriel, 48, said that as past president of the Hidden Hills Horseman Assn. and chairman of the Planning Commission, he has been peripherally involved in local politics for 12 years.

He said his experience in the community would allow him to “bring a sense of history to hopefully what would be a forward-looking approach to the issues the city may face.”

Those issues, he said, would be watching development both inside and outside the city’s gates to maintain the city’s close-knit, structured environment.

Incumbent Brian Herdeg, who has served 13 years on the council, said he chose to seek another term because he is “still enjoying this. I enjoy playing a part in things I care about.”

He said the homeowners association is generally charged with providing recreational and social activities for residents, and the council is responsible for the business of running the city.

Herdeg, 67, said one of the issues the city will face is planning for projects, especially a limited commercial area expected to be built just inside the front entrance on Long Valley Road.