I attended the City Council candidates forum on Monday night at the Trancas Community House. It was an animated evening—sometimes contentious, and, once or twice, even out of control.
The emotions that bubbled up were representative of the feelings not only of the candidates, but of the citizenry as a whole. With the future of the rural character of our city at stake, the battle lines among the candidates are being clearly defined. And even though at face value all five candidates claim to want the same thing (namely to protect the rural character of Malibu), there is real debate among them regarding the most effective ways to achieve that tricky goal.
On the one hand, we have two seasoned veterans of the council running for re-election. Laura Rosenthal and Lou LaMonte bring with them four years of experience dealing with the various developers and state agencies that have a say in Malibu’s future. That is no small advantage when it comes to navigating the murky waters of local politics.
On the other hand, three outsiders are running on platforms fueled by their passion to stop the over-development of Malibu. Andy Lyon and Hamish Patterson’s passion might remind one of the lone protestor in Tianeman Square who stood in front of the encroaching tanks and refused to move. Their commitment to preserving Malibu is infectious, and that, too, is no small advantage in a town where most of us want a moratorium on growth.
And finally, June Louks’ dream of Malibu as the national trend-setter for a healthy, sustainable small town is pure and beautifully intentioned.
I give great credit to these five locals who are walking the walk and standing up to represent the town we all love so much. I’m looking forward to hearing them all a few more times before I cast my vote, and I encourage everyone in town to do the same before voting in this most important next election.
Eamon Harrington