Congressman David Dreier (of Beverly Hills)

Representative David Dreier, who served in the United States Congress as a Republican from 1981–2013 representing parts of the San Gabriel Valley, and who now lives in Beverly Hills, spoke at the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills on May 19. I was impressed with what he had to say and the fact that, as far as I know, he is the only past or present Congressman living in Beverly Hills. He agreed to be interviewed so that I could tell you about this accomplished neighbor.

But first some background. Rep. Dreier is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and has a Master’s degree from Claremont Graduate University. Dreier was one of the youngest members ever elected to the United States Congress. He was the youngest chairman of the very important House Rules Committee in U.S. history, serving from 1999 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2013. He was instrumental in passing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. When he was voted one of most intelligent and articulate members of Congress, he noted that “the bar is not too high.”

Dreier is the first person to defeat two incumbents in back-to-back elections. In 1980, he beat an incumbent Democrat. Two years later redistricting merged his district with a senior Republican congressman whom he also defeated.

He serves on the Board of Trustees of Cal Tech and Claremont McKenna College and is a member of The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Space Innovation Council and the Los Angeles Mission Foundation.

He was appointed to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board by President Obama and became chairman of the Tribune Publishing Company in 2019, overseeing major publications including the Los Angeles Times. During his time in that role, a mass shooting occurred at the offices of a Tribune paper, the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Maryland, resulting in the murder of five employees and injuries to two others. It was the deadliest attack on journalists in U.S. history. This inspired him to found the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, to establish a memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., to honor journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Just listing all of his activities is exhausting.

And one more: He is the Ambassador for the Sweet Beverly Cafe and, as such, he is a proud member of the diplomatic corps.

Why he decided to live in Beverly Hills:

As a student at the Claremont Colleges, he spent time here and decided that when he retired, he would live in “downtown” Beverly Hills. He does. Today, he enjoys early morning runs which generally include a sprint along Rodeo Drive. (He is currently a fit, trim man who looks two decades younger than his stated age.)

Current Projects:

Among many other things, Rep. Dreier is now chairman of the Annenberg-Dreier Commission at Sunnylands, promotes the free flow of goods, services, capital, information, ideas, and people throughout the greater Pacific. He is in the process of starting a non-profit, online newsmagazine, “L.A. Reported” that will focus on keeping public officials accountable for their actions. He anticipates that it will go live later this year.

Free Trade:

Rep. Dreier is a disciple of President Reagan — both were first elected to federal office in November 1980 — as strong advocates for free trade among nations. He firmly believes that a trade “deficit” does not matter and that free trade is fair trade. He is concerned that the current administration’s erratic efforts to impose substantial tariffs on friends and enemies alike could lead to higher inflation and higher unemployment and, possibly, a significant recession. He observes that the recent decision of the Court of International Trade barring most of the administration’s proposed and imposed tariffs could save Trump from himself.

U.S. Presidents:

Rep. Dreier worked with an astonishing ten U.S. Presidents, including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bush One and Two, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Surprisingly, given that President Reagan was his role model, he regards Bill Clinton as the most impressive of this group. This is because of President Clinton’s ability to work effectively with both sides to achieve important bi-partisan support of important legislation. He also commented that Presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush were far more impressive in private small groups than on the national stage.

Travels:

During his time in office, Rep. Dreier traveled to over 100 countries on official business. In part, this was part of an effort to help developing or emerging countries in creating an effective legislative branch of government. He had a practice of buying objects of art from every country that he visited. While many of these were destroyed in a fire that burned down his Malibu home several years ago, he still has a very impressive collection and can tell erudite stories about each piece. I have encouraged him to create an audio explanation that will describe how and why he acquired each work and its significance so that this can be preserved for future generations.

These trips are the source of many stories that showcase his world class memory. For example, on a trip on Air Force One to Argentina, the Republican Dreier gave then-First Lady Hillary Clinton and then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, both Democrats, tango lessons. He is quick to point out that, at all times, he took the lead and they followed his directions.

Thoughts on Leadership in the Public Sector:

I asked Representative Dreier for advice to provide to our City’s elected officials on how to be most effective. His response:

• You must have an ability to listen and make certain to listen to constituents, legislative advocates, experts and colleagues.

• You must learn to suffer fools gladly and respectfully.

• Remember that you have been elected for your judgment. Don’t be a weathervane.

That is good advice also for amateur columnists and I will work on this. This column is intended to be the first of an occasional series of prominent Beverly Hills residents that we did not know were our neighbors. I could not have found a more interesting one to start with.