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City of Rolling Hills · Statewide General Election

Rolling Hills City Council

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds one of three at-large seats up this cycle on Rolling Hills' 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members select one of their own to preside each November or December, and members serve as unpaid volunteers, with no salary, benefits, or retirement.

Four candidates are running for three at-large seats on Rolling Hills' City Council: incumbents James Black, M.D., Leah Mirsch, and Pat Wilson, each first elected between 2003 and 2015, against one first-time challenger, real estate agent Jeanevra Calhoun. Vote for up to three -- no primary, no runoff.

Winners join a five-member council that sets zoning, land-use, and view-protection rules for a roughly 3-square-mile, single-entrance gated community of about 1,900 residents. The council doesn't draw a salary -- members serve as unpaid volunteers, with no benefits or retirement, and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. Each November or December, the five members choose one of their own to hold the largely ceremonial Mayor title for the coming year.

With four candidates for three seats, the practical choice is narrow: keep all three sitting councilmembers, or open one seat to the field's only newcomer. No party labels apply in this nonpartisan race, and no documented policy dispute or controversy defines it -- the incumbents' combined tenure runs back to 2003, while Calhoun offers no prior city role, so the contest turns mostly on whether voters want continuity or a fresh seat at the table.

James Black, M.D.

James Black, M.D. is the incumbent Mayor Pro Tem, first elected to the council in March 2003. He's running for another 4-year term. A plastic surgeon, the Daily Breeze/Palos Verdes Peninsula News called him the council's most senior member as far back as 2015, when he won a third term in an unusually competitive eight-candidate field.

Strengths

More than two decades on the council, including a stretch as its most senior member -- deep institutional memory for a five-person body with no professional staff of its own.

Trade-offs

No independent reporting on his specific votes or initiatives since 2015 was found in this pass; his current term runs through November 2026.

Keep in mind

No CalAccess campaign-finance committee was found for him, consistent with the council's unpaid, volunteer status and this city's very small size.

Leah Mirsch

Leah Mirsch is an incumbent councilmember, first elected in March 2015 after serving as a city planning commissioner. She's running for another 4-year term. At her first election, the retired telecommunications manager also served as vice chairwoman of the city's Committee on Trees and Views and on the boards of the Women's Club and the equestrian Caballeros Club.

Strengths

A decade-plus on the council plus prior service as a planning commissioner, giving her land-use experience before she ever held elected office.

Trade-offs

No independent reporting on her specific council votes or initiatives since her 2015 election was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No CalAccess committee was found for her; she also filed a Form 501 candidate-intention statement, the only one of the four to do so on the city's own record.

Pat Wilson

Pat Wilson -- listed as Patrick Wilson on the city's Council roster page -- is an incumbent councilmember, first elected in March 2015 after serving as a city traffic commissioner. He's running for another 4-year term. He owns a Wilmington trucking and repair facility and has served as president of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of the Wilmington Neighborhood Council, and president of Friends of Banning Museum.

Strengths

A decade-plus on the council plus prior service as a traffic commissioner and leadership of Wilmington-area civic and business groups before he ran.

Trade-offs

No independent reporting on his specific council votes or initiatives since 2015 was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No CalAccess committee was found for him. The city's own Elections page spells his name "Pat Wilson"; its Council roster page and 2015 election coverage both use "Patrick Wilson."

Jeanevra Calhoun

Jeanevra Calhoun is a first-time challenger for one of the three seats. She's running for a 4-year term on the council. A Rolling Hills-based real estate agent with Beach City Brokers, she filed a Form 700 statement of economic interests to qualify for the ballot -- the same disclosure every 2026 candidate in this race filed.

Strengths

A real estate agent already working in Rolling Hills, which could carry direct exposure to the city's zoning, view, and land-use rules.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed city role and no independent reporting on her candidacy or platform was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No CalAccess committee was found for her either. A Form 700 filing is the only ballot-qualification record this pass could independently confirm.

Source review: Strong (87/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • rolling-hills.org (opens in a new tab)City of Rolling Hills — Elections (November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election: three City Council seats, four-year terms; nomination period July 13-August 7, 2026; qualified candidates James Black M.D., Jeanevra Calhoun, Leah Mirsch, and Pat Wilson, each with FPPC filing status noted -- Form 700 for all four, Form 501 also for Mirsch; Resolution No. 1408 calling the election and No. 1409 on candidate-statement regulations)
  • rolling-hills.org (opens in a new tab)City of Rolling Hills — City Council (current roster: Mayor Bea Dieringer and Councilmember Jeff Pieper, terms to 12/2028; Mayor Pro Tem James Black M.D. and Councilmembers Patrick Wilson and Leah Mirsch, terms to 11/2026 -- the three seats up this cycle; council selects its own Mayor each Nov./Dec.; members are unpaid volunteers, no salary, benefits, or retirement)
  • dailybreeze.com (opens in a new tab)Daily Breeze / Palos Verdes Peninsula News (Megan Barnes) — "Leah Mirsch, Patrick Wilson join James Black on Rolling Hills Council" (election-night report on the March 2015 council race: Mirsch, a planning commissioner and retired telecommunications manager; Black, a plastic surgeon first elected 2003, capturing a third term; Wilson, a Wilmington trucking and repair-facility owner and traffic commissioner; eight candidates ran for three seats, a notably large field for a city where elections are often canceled for lack of competition)
  • zillow.com (opens in a new tab)Zillow — 9 Reata Ln, Rolling Hills, CA 90274 listing, naming Jeanevra Calhoun (DRE #01976822, Beach City Brokers) as the listing agent

Last updated August 31, 2026.