Persians who celebrated their new year last week will mark an even bigger occasion on Tuesday night, when Jimmy Jamshid Delshad is sworn in as Beverly Hills mayor, becoming America’s highest elected Iranian-American official. More than 1,000 people are expected for Delshad’s inauguration, which because of the anticipated rush has been moved from the council chambers to Crescent Drive, adjoining City Hall.“There's a phenomenal feeling of pride in the Persian community around the world,” Delshad, 67, said. “People are gratified something good is coming into the news after all the tensions between Iran and the United States.”Delshad’s victory, by just 171 votes, came after a divisive campaign that heightened simmering ethnic tensions in Beverly Hills, which became the destination for many wealthy Iranians fleeing their country after the 1979 fall of the Shah. Many longtime residents complained, for example, that the ballot was printed not only in English but in oversize Farsi, the language spoken by Iranians.Delshad said the campaign revived suspicions and animosities that had simmered for a generation in Beverly Hills, where Iranian-Americans comprise an estimated 8,000 of the city’s 35,000 residents — although longtime residents insist the number is much higher.“I would not call it ‘resistance’ (to the presence of Iranian-Americans), but more of a fear of the unknown. My job is to make (non-Iranians) aware that the people who are here in Beverly Hills are here to stay. They are just as American as others and, in fact, sometimes they are better Americans because they (have been) selective." Delshad was first elected to the City Council four years ago — a fact that Beverly Hills Weekly publisher Josh Gross believes was even more significant than his inauguration as mayor, a position that rotates among council members based on seniority.According to the Washington, DC-based National Iranian American Council, Delshad becomes the highest-ranking Iranian-American elected official in the country.Iraj Broomand was the first Iranian-American to serve as mayor of a US city, winning election to the Westlake Village City Council in 1997 and subsequently serving as that city's mayor.Delshad said he will continue to work as an ambassador between the two communities. His first priority will be returning the city's election ballot to its original form, with Farsi either eliminated or reduced in size.
