Malibu voters did not differ much from how Californians in general voted in last week’s Primary Election. All the major candidates who won in landslide affairs statewide were also victorious in Malibu in similar fashion. Malibu also sided with statewide voters on all five ballot measures, by approving Propositions 13 and 14, and rejecting Propositions 15, 16 and 17. Meanwhile, leaders from both the major political parties are gearing up for what could be a competitive General Election.
Voter turnout in Malibu was slightly below how it was statewide. Twenty-seven percent of Malibu’s 8,610 registered voters participated. Slightly more than 28 percent did so statewide. Thirty-seven percent of Malibu’s 2,615 registered Republicans voted, while 26 percent of the city’s 3,757 registered Democratic voters came to the polls. This can likely be attributed to the fact that the Republicans had more competitive races, while the Democrats had several with only one candidate.
As a note of interest regarding the rest of Malibu’s political makeup, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office, there are 1,898 persons not affiliated with a party, 172 American Independents, 72 Libertarians, 71 Greens and 25 Peace and Freedom Party members.
Gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman are in a virtual deadlock, according to the most recent polls. Malibu Republican Women, Federated co-President Patti Adair said Republican Whitman was able to defeat primary rival Steve Poizner so easily because she has “invigorated so many women.”
“It is incredible,” Adair said. “You see women for Whitman groups popping up all over. I have a whole lot of friends in Malibu who are taking part. And even people who might not have heard of her, I can say, ‘You know eBay? The woman who was in charge of eBay is running for governor. It’s an incredible selling point.’”
Regarding Whitman’s Democratic rival, the former governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown, Adair said, “He’s 73. He’s already had his chance. He already was governor.”
But Jean T. Goodman, president of the Malibu Democratic Club, thinks Brown’s experience as governor from 1975 to 1983 is a good thing.
“He did a wonderful job 30 years ago and he was cutting edge then,” she said. “I think he’s gotten even more experience and knowledge since then, and knows exactly what California needs. He’s here to represent all Californians.”
Goodman said the same cannot be said about Whitman. Goodman has the same opinion of Carly Fiorina, former head of Hewlett-Packard and winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Fiorina will attempt to unseat two-term Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer. “I think when people see who these two candidates are, they will see they are definitely not looking out for the majority of Californians, but rather the wealthy and corporate America,” Goodman said of Fiorina and Whitman.
Adair has a different take on the business backgrounds of the two Republican candidates. She said this background will help in a state and nation that are still hurting economically. She said this is the reason she believes more than ever before the Republicans have an opportunity to defeat 36-year Congressman Henry Waxman, whose 30th Congressional District includes Malibu. “In 2008 no one raced against him,” Adair said. “This year we had five candidates who wanted to run against him. I know a lot of people who are very concerned about the future of our country.”
The winner of the Republican primary for the 30th district by just a handful of votes was David Benning, a Los Angeles businessman and software engineer. He came in second in Malibu, behind C.E. Wilkerson, who was the runner- up in the district.
Goodman, on the other hand, said she is confident the heavily Democratic 30th Congressional District will not end up being involved in one of the greatest upsets in political history. Also likely having a safe seat, Goodman said, is Julia Brownley, who is running for her third and final two-year term as the representative of California’s 41st Assembly District, which includes Malibu. Brownley, a Santa Monica resident and former president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Board of Education, had no opponent in the primary. Neither did her Republican rival, Gulf War veteran and IT consultant Terry Rathburn.