In the ongoing comedy of errors that passes for politics, government and journalism in Malibu, I was almost amused by Andy Stern and Sharon Barovsky’s feigned ignorance of the scheduled Malibu Township Council forum on March 18, as reported in the news stories.
The “I didn’t get the e-mail” excuse is right out of the Karl Rove playbook. Make a statement that appears to be either absurd or false and then bluster enough at the other guy to try and make him look weak and then refuse to back down and use cheap insults, as in this case, and soon the truth is obscured in the crossfire. I heard that Andy’s e-mail was working just fine when he went on-line to tellingly protest just a bit too much to the poor MTC member who sent the invitation.
Sharon’s excuse, for example, that the e-mail would have gone to her spam folder on her personal e-mail really doesn’t fly because, if that is the case, the sender is notified of that fact and given a chance to request the e-mail sender be added to the address book. I know this is the case, because I have an Earthlink mailbox and so does Sharon and so does the person who sent Sharon’s invitation. The sender would have known that the e-mail was not delivered and there was no such notification. The spam blocker works the same way for all.
Why these candidates choose to thumb their nose at a group that has always held a respected and dignified forum before every election is a mystery. Are they so confident of their anticipated victory or would they just rather enjoy brunch with their acolytes and avoid any real confrontation?
This council loves to tout its vaunted unity. I wonder what are they unified around besides saving and lengthening each other’s questionable tenure? I would strongly urge my fellow citizens to go beyond the surface of the issues, most particularly the true history of the Chili Cook-off purchase, going back to Measure M, and inform themselves about the substance, not the “show” of what we are dealing with in this election.
Dean Ruiz