Some say the hiring involves cronyism. The new public relations officer, Susan Shaw, would be paid $5,000 per month.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The hiring of Chili Cook-Off site fundraising head Susan Shaw as the city of Malibu’s public relations officer was met with some hostility at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Former Planning Com-
missioner Richard Carrigan and a few other traditional City Council opponents said Malibu did not need somebody to do public relations work, and suggested cronyism was involved in Shaw’s selection because no other candidates were named for the position. Councilmember Sharon Barovsky, who was the main target of the criticism, said the accusation was absurd.
“Sharon Barovsky and Susan Shaw are close, personal friends,” Carrigan said. “Sharon Barovsky and Susan Shaw shared an office space in the early 1990s. When Susan Shaw’s house burned in the fire of 1993, Susan Shaw stayed with Sharon Barovsky.”
Following several more comments similar to Carrigan’s from other public speakers, Barovsky said, “I bitterly resent the implication that I would somehow use my office to get somebody hired. That could not be further from the truth.”
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Barovsky said that she and Shaw did share office space in the early ’90s and the two worked together on the General Plan Task Force. She added that Shaw lived with her and her husband after the 1993 fire, but that Shaw’s “significant other” at the time was a friend of Barovsky’s, and when he moved in temporarily, Shaw came with him. But Barovsky said she and Shaw are not close friends.
“It’s just a shame that Mr. Carrigan has to personalize everything,” Barovsky said. “When he doesn’t have a good argument, he either sues or calls people names.”
Last week, a contract was drafted that had Shaw making $150 per hour plus expenses, with a potential to make up to $20,000 per year. According to that contract, the city manager could increase the $20,000 cap. But that contract was scrapped prior to the council meeting, and the one approved by the City Council has Shaw making $5,000 per month for six months. After six months, the city will issue a notice for other people, including Shaw, to apply for the job.
City Manager Jim Thorsen said at Monday’s meeting that the city would need a public relations officer because he had heard since he started working in Malibu earlier this year that the city needed a better outreach program. He said Shaw would also be used for further fundraising for the development of the Chili Cook-Off site.
Mayor Ken Kearsley said Shaw was the best person for the job, based on the city’s raising of $2.5 million in public donations for the Chili Cook-Off site purchase with Shaw’s help.
“If you’re heading toward the pennant, you want a .350 hitter in your lineup,” Kearsley said. “And that’s what we’re doing… I’ll be able to say, ‘Susan, do your magic. Do your thing that you did in the past.’ If she doesn’t perform, then we will try someone else.”
Kearsley said a public relations officer was needed for Malibu not to speak with the local press, but for media covering Malibu from other areas, including the Los Angeles Times and television news shows. He said the city was at a disadvantage because state agencies and other organizations it comes into conflict with have “public relations machines.”
Kearsley dismissed Carrigan’s argument that a public relations officer is not needed because past mayors such as Walt Keller and Tom Hasse let the community know about city accomplishments through breakfast meetings and newsletters. He said in the past, those mayors didn’t have much to talk about in terms of accomplishments.
“We didn’t have a park,” Kearsley said. “We didn’t have one square inch of land. We were in legal battle with the county. We were in legal battle with the state. And we were the pariah of California.”
Pamela Conley Ulich was the only council member not to support Shaw’s contract. She said she did not understand why a notice for other people to apply for the position could not be issued now, if it would be issued in six months anyhow.
Carrigan and others also asked for a competitive bidding process to begin now rather than in six months.
“All city staff should be hired based on a competitive application process where the City Council chooses the best, most qualified applicant,” Carrigan said. “City contracts should only be awarded after a request for proposal has been issued. Competitive bidding assures Malibu taxpayers that the contracting process is open and is fair and that we are getting the best service at the best price.”
Shaw did not immediately return a call Tuesday for comment.
Also at the meeting, the council unanimously voted to hire Lily Ruff as the city treasurer. Ruff has been the treasurer for Agoura Hills since the city was created. Malibu has been without a city treasurer since Pete Lippman resigned in 2004. The treasurer reviews the city’s finances, and gives reports to the council independent of city staff.
The meeting was adjourned in memory of actor Edward Albert Jr., a local environmentalist and civic activist who died last week at age 55.