The Wealthiest Parts Of Beverly Hills-- Where Greed And Selfishness Trump Humanity-- Voted Fascist Last Tuesday

 

Los Feliz, where I live, is an old L.A. neighborhood, originally a Spanish land-grant to corporal José Vicente Feliz. The birthplace of Disney Studios (and home of Walt Disney) and the West Coast headquarters of ABC, Los Feliz was the original Beverly Hills. The other day a friend came over for a little hike in the neighborhood, the only way I've gotten together with friends since March. The election was over but hadn't been called for Biden yet. We passed a house-- a house I pass every time I go for a hike-- and there was a huge 20 foot wide banner hanging from the balcony. In the middle of a neighborhood where basically every house has a Biden-Harris sign, the banner was a Trump-Pence one. I was shocked, horrified. In my neighborhood!??! Everyone votes for and supports Democrats around here. This area just voted out a solid progressive incumbent, David Ryu, to replace him with a Democratic Socialist, Nithya Raman, 52.46% to 47.54%. Our congressman, Adam Schiff beat well-financed ($3,649,968) Republican Eric Early 218,101 (73.28%) to 79,544 (26.72%). In my immediate neighborhood (Precinct 900067A) Biden got 1,147 votes to Trump's 209.

But in the actual Beverly Hills, things went far worse than a Trump banner hanging from a balcony. Keep in mind that in 2016 Trump won Los Angeles County with 23.4%. Votes are still being counted but Trump increased his support in L.A. (so far) to 26.9%. And, according to L.A. Times reporter Lila Seidman, Trump increased his support in Beverly Hills to the point where two precincts-- like Trousdale Estates area, where the average home sale price is currently more than $15 million-- gave Trump majorities! "The two precincts," she wrote-- "both above Sunset Boulevard in the areas synonymous with wealth-- stick out like a red thumb among the blue sea representing what has traditionally been seen as Los Angeles’ liberal stronghold on the Westside. They are some of the county’s most affluent areas, yet they backed Trump more than neighboring luxury areas such as Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Holmby Hills, which went to Biden along with other parts of Beverly Hills... But neighboring precincts-- which run roughly from Trousdale Estates to the Los Angeles Country Club, with the Beverly Hills Hotel in the middle-- voted for Trump 56% to 44%, according to data from The Times.

When it came to light that one of the same neighborhoods, or precincts, in 2016 voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton, it was seen as an anomaly. This time around, no one seemed shocked to learn that an even wider swath of the small, affluent city of about 34,000 went red.

“Trump has been very good for rich people,” Steel said, “and I think that sometimes people forget to think about human life and human policies versus what’s good for your wallet.”

Walking his dog near Will Rogers Memorial Park, just south of Sunset Boulevard, resident David Shapiro said he voted for Trump for the first time this year-- abstaining in 2016-- because of his economic and tax policies, as well as his support of Israel and tough stance on China.

A Jewish emigree from Moscow, Shapiro, 65, said that Trump was not cozy with Russia as many people thought and that America was not seen as a friend in his home country.

“He’s good for international relations,” said Shapiro, a businessman. “We don’t have any war-- the problem is there will be war in the Middle East. And he’s good to Israel.”

Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman said he didn’t see the expansion of Trump voters to two neighborhoods as indicative of a trend.

“I don’t really sense a big change in political outlooks, just that they’re more vocal,” Friedman said by phone Friday afternoon.

As some residents noted, pro-Trump supporters have gathered every week for nearly four months along one of Beverly Hills’ main thoroughfares to proclaim their support for the president. Rally organizer and resident Shiva Bagheri said in late October that the events empowered people like her to go from “the silent majority” to the “loud-lion majority.”

On Saturday morning, a handful of Trump supporters gathered at a park where the rally usually kicked off at 2 p.m. A man and a woman who declined to comment were standing behind a sign calling for the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, as neighborhoods just a few miles away were celebrating Biden’s victory by dancing in the street, cheering and honking their horns.

Contrary to the notion of a louder electorate, many Trump and Biden supporters said they felt they could not speak fully on the record for fear of retribution from neighbors or potential negative impacts to their business. One man from Bel-Air went off on Trump but then declined to give his name, saying, “I have to work in this town.”