Seventh person pulls papers for possible council run
Malibu Park resident Susan Tellem, who was frequently in the news over the past several months for her fierce opposition to the overnight camping element of the proposed Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy parks enhancement plan, has indicated she plans to run for a seat on the City Council. Tellem picked up her candidate’s packet at City Hall last Thursday, and told The Malibu Times this week she definitely plans to be in the campaign.
“I think the main reason is because the current City Council votes in a block, with the exception of Pamela [Conley Ulich],” said Tellem, 62. “You can see there is a definite voting block, rarely is disagreement with any pointed questions. They need a different voice on the council.”
Tellem, who heads a public relations agency in Century City, has lived in Malibu with her husband, Marshall Thompson, for 10 years. Thompson is president of the local homeowners association and sits on the Malibu Township Council.
It is becoming a crowded field of candidates for the April 5 contest for three council seats, with seven people having pulled papers, and six of them guaranteeing they will run. The other potential candidates are Planning Commissioner John Sibert, former Public Safety Commissioner Ryan Embree, Chamber of Commerce President Ed Gillespie, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education member Kathy Wisnicki, Malibu Township Council President Jefferson Wagner and property rights activist Wade Major, who was the lone person unsure if he would actually run.
Mayor Jeff Jennings and Councilmember Ken Kearsley are termed-out, guaranteeing there will be at least two new people on the council. Pamela Conley Ulich, whose term expires in April, has not indicated whether she plans to run.
Potential candidates have until Jan. 11 to turn in a list of 20 signatures from eligible Malibu voters. If Conley Ulich chooses not to run, the deadline is extended to Jan. 16.
SMMC to decide on parks plan
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy board is holding in a special meeting on Friday at 10 a.m. to vote on what it will do regarding the state agency’s parks enhancement proposal. Executive Director Joe Edmiston has already said he supports returning to the 2006 plan in some form unless the City Council agrees to rescind its Dec. 5 vote that proposed a citywide ban on overnight camping.
The meeting is taking place in several locations, with board members communicating through teleconference. The public can attend the meeting at any of the places, and speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
The meeting locations are the Sooky Goldman Nature Center at Franklin Canyon Park, 2600 Franklin Canyon Dr. in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles River Center and Gardens, 570 West Ave. Twenty-Six in Los Angeles, Temescal
Canyon Conference and Retreat Center, 15601 Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades, King Gillette Ranch, 26416 Mulholland Hwy in Calabasas, California Department of Parks and Recreation land at 1925 Las Virgenes Rd. in Calabasas, a facility at 2967 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks and a location 2914 North Main St., 1st Floor in Los Angeles.
Wrongdoing found in Mel Gibson arrest
The Office of Independent Review released a report last week that several inappropriate actions were taken by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials during the drunk driving arrest of actor/director Mel Gibson in July 2006.
According to the report, a supervisor considered withholding evidence about Gibson’s anti-Semitic comments, but he was later overruled by a captain.
Also, Sheriff’s officials failed to take Gibson’s palm print upon his release, and did not follow proper procedure prior to driving him to retrieve his car from a tow yard.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Steve Whitmore said two sergeants and a jailer have been reprimanded for the procedural violations, with one perceiving a one-day suspension and two others receiving a written reprimand.
School district waives parcel tax assessment for fire victims
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced last week that it has waived the direct assessment or parcel tax collected for individuals that sustained 50 percent or greater damage to their property in to the October and November wildfires in Malibu.
District officials wrote in a press release, “This waiver is one example of how the district is providing various types of support to the victims of the recent Malibu wildfires. It is the district’s hope that these individuals can restore their homes, security, peace of mind, and quality of life as soon as possible.”
The county of Los Angeles has identified the parcels involved and will remove the charge from the tax roll. Those with questions about the waiver should call 213.617.0592.
-Jonathan Friedman