Thank God that Measure M mess is over. Never before have I been so well-informed on a political issue and felt so utterly clueless about which side to take. Up until the moment I walked into St. Aidan’s on election morning, I had no idea which way I was going to vote. So I rolled the dice.
When Measure M was defeated, I felt neither triumph nor disappointment-only a hope that Malibu could now move on beyond the contentiousness. And move toward achieving what’s both mutually acceptable and least detrimental for the City of Malibu and for the Malibu Bay Company.
But then I read in an article on the campaigns in one of our papers that a leading Measure M opponent, Ozzie Silna, said “There are a few people who are deceptive in their portrayal of our side and I find it unacceptable to speak with them in the future.” Here we go again.
I’m guessing that if (and it could be a big “if”) Mr. Perenchio is going to come back to the negotiating table, he will need
to know that his revised Development Agreement, in whatever form it takes, will not be victimized by the same absurd Malibu political gridlock that has afflicted so much of this city’s policy making.
And in order for this to happen, the name-calling has to stop. The recrimination has to stop. The ego-driven grandstanding has to stop. The refusals to speak to or listen to those who disagree with your point of view have to stop.
I ended up voting “no” on M. So did about 25% of Malibu’s registered voters. (Less than half of us even bothered to vote.) I did so with the perhaps naïve belief Mr. Perenchio would reconsider his position and continue negotiating, knowing that there are lots of people like me out there who really wanted to vote “yes” but couldn’t see through the mud-slinging.
I will be standing first in line to vote “yes” on a new Development Agreement in the spring should it be on the ballot, and should it be endorsed by the people whose opinions I respect. These people include our City Council, our Planning Commissioners, Tami Clark, Rich Fox, and Mr. Silna.
I challenge them to agree to agree. I challenge them to set aside the past and do what’s best for Malibu’s future.
Michael McDonnell