L.A. County Supervisor: Bobby Shriver
L.A. County Assessor: Jeffrey Prang
L.A. County Sheriff: Jim McDonnell
Board of Education: Craig Foster
Yes on State Water Bond Measure 1
Yes on County Measure P (Parks)
No on Malibu Measure R (Chain stores and development)
There are a number of county and local races that are going to directly impact Malibu and the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains, the most important of which is the battle to replace our long-serving and highly regarded Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who is termed out at the end of this year.
My choice for this office is 60-year-old Bobby Shriver, who brings a variety of experience to the job. He’s a former mayor of Santa Monica, a city of 90,000, a former business executive in the private sector and an individual who successfully ran charitable nonprofits. He has both the energy and the smarts to do the job. The supervisor’s job is a hybrid: part legislator, part executive, part administrator, and needs someone who can handle all aspects of the job.
His opponent, Sheila Kuehl, is a competent legislator and has served us well in her extensive career in Sacramento, but being on the board is a complicated job and not really a retirement career after a long legislative service.
Shortly, your mailbox will fill with mailers from the Kuehl campaign, from police, firemen, nurses, teachers and other unions. Every one of those mailers is an I.O.U. from that group expecting county dollars in return from the supervisor they are trying to get elected. Zev’s, and also termed-out Gloria Molina’s, great strength was resisting pressure from friends and both were very fiscally prudent. That is why L.A. County is solvent and many other counties are not. We have potentially enormous fiscal problems with inadequately funded pensions, and we certainly don’t want to exacerbate that situation with profligate spending in the future.
To me the choice is clear. Bobby Shriver for Supervisor.
County Assessor
In the past, the county has had all sorts of corruption problems with the assessor’s office and all seem to agree that Jeffrey Prang is both able and absolutely squeaky clean, and because of that he has picked up wide support.
County Sheriff
Another troubled county agency is the Sheriff’s Department, which is desperately in need of new leadership. The federal government is about to take control of the county jails and the system begs for someone who is competent, experienced and comes from outside the department. Jim McDonnell, the Chief of Police in Long Beach and former No. 2 at the Los Angeles Police Department, is just the man we need.
Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education
The Santa Monica-Malibu School District is greatly in need of a Malibu representative, particularly now that we are trying to get our own separate Malibu School District. Craig Foster, who is the leader of AMPS, the group spearheading the independence movement, is a perfect candidate for the board. He brings leadership and people skills, Wall Street financial experience, and experience as a classroom teacher all to the job. The problem is that 80 percent of the voters are in Santa Monica, which makes it very difficult for a Malibu candidate. For that reason, I’m suggesting you all bullet vote, that is cast only one vote for school board, and that vote for Craig Foster. I know there are a number of very competent people running who are deserving of your vote, but the tyranny of the arithmetic is that if you vote for four candidates, it substantially diminishes the chance of getting a Malibu candidate onto the school board.
State Water Measure 1
This is an absolute no-brainer. We’re now in the fourth year of a drought and this could go on for several years more. You have all seen the photos of the condition of our reservoirs and we need it all: more reservoirs, dams, water conservation, low water bathroom fixtures, low water plants and lawns, smarter farming and drip irrigation and the conversion is not going to be easy or cheap. This bond measure is an absolute essential to maintain a future water supply. A definite yes.
County Proposition P – County Parks
On the county level we need the park bond measure to pass or we’re going to see a lot of former county parkland filled with dried brush and weeds. Another definite yes.
City of Malibu – Measure R
Just in case you missed it last week, I’m advocating a “no” vote on Measure R. I kind of have a rule of construction I follow. If I’m uncertain about how a ballot measure will play out, whether it will achieve what it hopes to achieve, I vote “no” because it’s tougher to undo something that’s bad then it is to go back and try again for something better.