Tension mounted at Monday night’s City Council meeting, as dozens of Malibu citizens who support the Measure R campaign came to protest what they see as an illegal and calculated removal of lawn signs from their property over the past week, ordered by City Manager Jim Thorsen.
According to Thorsen, the removal was a mistake made by an overenthusiastic city contractor.
“The Public Works crew, which is a contract crew that we hire, was a little more aggressive than they should have been,” Thorsen told The Malibu Times last week when residents began to voice their complaints. “We instructed them to remove signs that were technically in the city’s right of way. We technically don’t pull those signs that are out beyond [homeowner] fences … but they got very aggressive and pulled many more.”
On Thursday of last week, a city worker trucked at least 76 “Yes on Measure R” signs back to campaign organizer John Mazza, who was one of many residents irate over the city’s apparent snafu. Several signs advocating Craig Foster and Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein for the Board of Education were also taken and later returned, according to Thorsen.
“We’ve had many reports where they actually went behind people’s fences,” Mazza said. “I gave a lady six signs, put them on the other side of her fence and boom, they were gone.”
The apparent sign “sweeps” took place between Monday of last week and Thursday.
City Hall chambers Monday were filled with about 25 furious residents wielding lawn signs emblazoned with the words “Yes on R,” while disrupting the meeting, heckling Thorsen, City Attorney Christi Hogin and the four Councilmembers who have publicly expressed their support for the “No on R” campaign. It seemed the only official who did not come under fire from the public was Mayor Skylar Peak, an outspoken supporter of Measure R.
“This official city-sponsored vandalism and stealing has given the citizens of Malibu a collective sick-to-our-stomach feeling that we’ve never experienced in our city’s 23-year history, and you should be ashamed,” said resident and local attorney Frank Angel.
Angel went on to question who it was that called for Thorsen to order the removal, provoking audience members to shout, “who? who?” at the officials seated on the dais.
“We know that Mr. Thorsen isn’t nearly as stupid as to have given these orders alone,” Angel said.
When Thorsen had a chance to defend his actions on Monday, he was shouted down by disgruntled residents.
“An honest mistake occurred,” Thorsen said, to shouts of “Liar!” from the audience. “For that, I do apologize to our citizens. I do.”
Another resident, Robert Bass, took comments one step further, calling for Thorsen to be removed from his position.
“Well, you all are a gang of thieves,” Bass said to the council, “and Jim Thorsen is a criminal and he needs to be removed from office.”
“We are not in my neighborhood at all surprised about Jim Thorsen giving orders to steal the political process from the people here in the City of Malibu,” Bass added.
Mari Stanley, a resident of the Point Dume neighborhood, also cried conspiracy about the signs being removed.
“I note that on the weekend, we see ‘No on R’ signs, so as far as I’m concerned, all this was a political game until you could get your own damn signs up,” Stanley said.
The heckling continued as council member after council member expressed support for Thorsen’s actions. Eventually, Peak had to eject one resident, Cindy Vandor, from the chambers to continue the meeting.
“Some of you won’t believe this because it’s just not in your nature,” said Councilmember John Sibert, “sometimes you can assign things to incompetence and not malevolent intent.”
The last to speak, and the only elected supporter of Measure R, Mayor Peak attempted to diffuse the situation.
“Our city normally has not targeted signs on people’s property even if they are in the right of way,” Peak said, adding, “I know Jim, and that wouldn’t be his intention.”