Culture War Tensions Roil Beverly Hills School Board Race

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, school board elections around the country, once sleepy affairs, have been convulsed by America’s political and cultural divides. The teaching of racial justice. Gaza and Israel. Transgender rights.

But very few of these battles have had the same mix of wealth, privilege and celebrity as the one that is going on in Beverly Hills, Calif. And this year, the campaign for two seats on the school board has devolved into an all-out political brawl.

“The ugliness of national politics has come to Beverly Hills,” said Gay Abrams, 70, an activist who has lived in the city for decades and recently organized “No Kings” rallies.

Moles have infiltrated group chats. The police have responded to dozens of calls about stolen campaign signs. One of the candidates has a restraining order against an opponent over allegations of doxxing. And in this heavily Jewish community, feelings about Israel and the definition of antisemitism have been at the forefront.

Beverly Hills, while it has always had plenty of Republicans, for decades voted for Democrats for president, save for Ronald Reagan. That changed in 2024, when the city, which has a population of about 30,000, voted for Donald Trump and became a small red dot on the vast blue map of Los Angeles County.