Council candidates to the starting line, please.
We’re getting into the holiday season, at which time local politicking usually slows down, except in a City Council election year.
In April 2002, there are two seats open on the Malibu City Council, and Tom Hasse, one of the incumbenp
ts, has decided he’s had enough and he’s not going to run again. The other incumbent is Sharon Barovsky, who is running. There are some, however, itching to have another go at her.
Last time out, two years ago, Robert Roy Van de Hoek, a total political unknown, ran against Barovsky and, to most everyone’s surprise, ran very respectably. And he’s let everyone know that he’s going at it again.
There’s also a rumor, and at this point it’s just a rumor, that former Councilmember Carolyn Van Horn is going to give it another try and may even run on a slate with Van de Hoek.
Planning Commissioner Andrew Stern has announced he’s running and, perhaps coincidentally, his colleagues on the Planning Commission have just elected him chair of the commission. Another planning commissioner, Ted Vaill, who a few years back made a pitch to the council to be appointed to the late Harry Barovsky’s seat, which ultimately went to his wife, Sharon, has been also thinking about it but as of yet is undecided. John Wall, who ran respectably last time, is also giving it another look.
There is a new face on the horizon–Beverly Taki, president of the Malibu Association of Realtors, who’s also been seen testing the waters. And, perhaps most surprisingly, there is even some suspicion that Walt Keller may be looking for a comeback. He and his close buddy, Herb Broking, have just conducted a heated campaign for the highly sought after post of the presidency of the Malibu Senior Citizens Club, in which Keller thumped incumbent President Jo Fogg, who is still seething. It’s unclear if Keller is just worried about getting a Senior Citizens Center as he professes, or if he’s once again on the launching pad.
There are three others who have expressed some thought about running in the past: Laure Stern, an activist in children’s issues, Dierdre Roney, active in school and bond issues, and Laurene Sills, active in education and parks issues. All three have supposedly said, “not this time,” but since no one has to declare until January, who knows. With an open seat and a field so split, anything is possible.
They’re all studying the numbers like this was the daily double.
The Judge and Mayor Joan
Our mayor, Joan House, testified recently in a lawsuit, by the Sierra Club against the city relating to a couple of homes that were built on Latigo Beach that the Sierra Club, or at least its attorney, Frank Angel, doesn’t like.
The judge came down rather hard on our mayor and, frankly, I thought the judge was more then a bit heavy–handed and rather unfair.
I’ve known House for more than 10 years and I’ve watched her serve on the council for most of that time. To my mind, she’s about as straight of an arrow as they come. There are times I’ve supported her and there are times I’ve opposed her, but there is one thing that neither I nor anyone else I know ever did, and that’s question her honesty or her sincerity.
House generally knows what’s going on but is not glib, and, unfortunately, glib counts for a lot in a courtroom. So I think she took a bad rap.
If it’s any comfort to the mayor, I can only say that I practiced trial law for 22 years and I’ve seen good judges make bad decisions and bad judges make good decisions, and other judges make decisions that I’m still trying to figure out.
One of the reasons that people settle cases is because there is always a certain randomness to a trial and there is always the possibility of error, which is why there are appeals courts. Unfortunately, getting occasionally beat up in a courtroom just comes with the job. Every judge is a Monday morning quarterback, with plenty of time to make up their mind and attorneys to assist them in getting the information they need. Councilmembers are called on to make decisions in minutes on issues that judges frequently have days to ponder. It’s not always fair, but no one ever promised life would always be fair.