Most are agreeable on all issues; Tellem echoes refrain of cronyism.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The City Council candidates had their final opportunity to get their messages out to the voters in a public format this past week during two separate forums at Malibu United Methodist Church. Approximately 70 people in total attended the sessions hosted by Operation Recovery 2007 on Thursday and the Malibu Park Homeowners Association on Saturday.
The four candidates in attendance-Susan Tellem, Planning Commissioner John Sibert, Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner and Mayor Pro Tem Pamela Conley Ulich-provided nearly identical answers to most of the questions asked during the combined four hours of discussion. School Board member Kathy Wisnicki, the fifth candidate in the race, did not attend either forum, because, she said on Monday, she had the flu.
Several times, the candidates admitted to the mostly agreeable atmosphere at the forums. A brief moment of drama came on Saturday when Tellem announced which three candidates the public should support in the April 8 election.
“I’m sure you’re all waiting for some spark in this debate, so I’m going to start it,” Tellem said. “The only way you can change the balance of the City Council to get what you want is to vote for me and Jefferson and keep Pamela in. John and Kathy Wisnicki are going to be right back doing the same thing, because they’re going to be [Councilmember] Sharon [Barovsky] and Andy Stern’s echo.”
Sibert responded, “I’m not a pawn of anybody, never have been in my life.”
Tellem and many of her supporters throughout the campaign have accused Sibert, Barovsky’s appointee on the Planning Commission, of being an agent of the veteran council member. Sibert has repeatedly denied the accusation. He is endorsed by all the current council members except for Conley Ulich, who has not officially supported any of the campaigns except her own.
The host of Thursday’s forum is a group composed of people who lost their homes in last year’s fires. Many of the questions asked during the session were fire-related.
Most of those who attended the session do not reside within the city limits, but all the candidates said they are still concerned with their issues. Many on the current council have been criticized for not caring about those in the unincorporated areas due to comments made at a meeting right after the Corral Fire, and because the city initially listed all the homes destroyed in that blaze, but later removed from the list those from the unincorporated area.
“Malibu doesn’t stop [at the city border],” said Conley Ulich, who has spearheaded an effort to get more help for the rebuilding efforts of homeowners in the city and unincorporated areas. “It’s not like the Berlin Wall … And I think it’s imperative that we take care of each other.”
Conley Ulich said she wants to have a town forum, with firefighters in attendance, to discuss fire response and other related issues. The other candidates also said these issues need to be discussed. They also said there needs to be better cooperation with Caltrans and the city on construction in the area. Currently, Corral Canyon Road is reduce to one lane at the bottom near Pacific Coast Highway, while a city bridge reconstruction project continues, and Caltrans has eliminated a westbound lane on Pacific Coast Highway in the area because of a rockslide repair project. This has caused a significant traffic problem for the Corral Canyon residents.
The issue of overnight camping was also discussed. The current council has proposed amending the city’s Local Coastal Program to eliminate overnight camping because of the perceived fire risk. Only the California Coastal Commission has the power to make such a change (or a court could force the amendment). All the candidates said they support the amendment, but admitted it will be a tough task to get it passed. Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas has called the request “a waste of public funds” because he says the proposal is contrary to the Coastal Act’s support of public access. Although Douglas does not have a vote on the 12-member commission, his opinion is influential.
“We’ve got to go back to the other communities around Southern California and try to bring a broader voice to get across to the Coastal Commission and say, ‘hey this is wrong,'” Sibert said. “Am I optimistic they’re [Coastal Commission] going to change their position, no. So it probably will end up with litigation. And if it does, we better move forward with a lot of other folks on our side.”
The other candidates agreed with Sibert. They compared it to the city’s victorious battle against BHP Billiton’s liquefied natural gas proposal, which they said was made easier because the city of Oxnard and other areas were fighting alongside Malibu.
One of the major issues discussed on Saturday was development in the Civic Center area. All the candidates promoted Conley Ulich’s proposed retail formula ordinance, which would limit the number of chain stores in the city in an attempt to save local businesses. She has been unable to get the current council to endorse the plan.
“It makes it a little harder for the big boys to come in and push their weight around,” said Wagner, who owns an independent surf shop in the city.
Also, the candidates agreed the city should work closer with Caltrans to solve the various traffic issues on Pacific Coast Highway. And they said the city should try to get a higher percentage of the parking revenue than it currently receives for those coming to the beach. Currently, the city’s share is 10 percent of the revenue.
Conley Ulich proposed the city take Zuma Beach from the county “and then we can get 100 percent of the money,” she said. Sibert said that would be a plan worth exploring.
A forum hosted last month by The Malibu Township Council will air on Channel 15 Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Friday from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.