John A. Mirisch

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

John A. Mirisch
73rd, 76th, and 79th Mayor of Beverly Hills
Former
In office 2013–2014 2016–2017 2019 – 2020
Incumbent	Lester Friedman
Preceded by	William W. Brien Julian Gold Julian Gold
Succeeded by	Lester Friedman
Personal details
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican[1]
Relations	Harold Mirisch (grandfather), Walter Mirisch (great-uncle), Marvin Mirisch (great-uncle)
Profession	Politician, unemployed

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 (born 1921) 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] He has been unemployed since 2013.

Mirisch was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009.[4] As councilor, he opposed plans to annex Holmby Hills, Los Angeles into 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 served his second term as mayor from March 2016 to March 2017[11] 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 2015, during an initiative campaign over a skyscraper development which Mirisch opposed and which was subsequently defeated at the ballot box, the City of Beverly Hills was ordered to pay over $9,000 in legal fees [12] over the city's failure to release police records related to allegations of domestic abuse against Mirisch made by his ex-wife prior to their divorce. The records had been demanded by a paid investigator, working for strategic research firm Fusion GPS, which is known for compiling opposition dossiers on political candidates, including President Donald Trump.

The records [13] purported to show that police were summoned to Mirisch's home for reports of domestic disturbances. An unsigned affidavit, not made under penalty of perjury, for a restraining order filed by Magdalena Mirisch-Krueger, which was later withdrawn, made the claim that Mirisch abused her and was hostile and neglectful toward their son.

In the subsequent election for Beverly Hills City Council on March 5, 2017, Mirisch was re-elected, placing first out 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. Campaign website Archived 2013-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
3. 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. Talbot, Victoria (March 31, 2017). "John Mirisch Looks Back On His Year As Mayor" (PDF). The Beverly Hills Courier. LI (13). pp. 4, 27. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
12. http://bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-city-to-pay-over-9k-in-legal-fees-over-mayors-police-records/
13. http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/2012/05/politics-of-subways-gets-nasty-in.html