Laura Rosenthal didn’t set out to become involved in local government but her background and life took her down a path that eventually led to a seat on the Malibu City Council and now as mayor of Malibu.
During her nine-month term — Rosenthal’s second time as mayor — key issues she plans to focus on include better communication with city residents, increasing community involvement, becoming more innovative with environmental stewardship and promoting the local art community, Rosenthal said.
“I also want to get something going at Bluffs Park and I would like to get the construction started on Santa Monica College’s satellite Malibu campus. That bond was passed back in 2004, so I would really like for the project to progress,” Rosenthal added.
Rosenthal also hopes to bring back a level of civility and harmony that has since diminished in the local political scene.
“We all love the small town feel of Malibu and when we bring big city politics in, it dismays me,” Rosenthal said.
As a 27-year resident of Malibu, Rosenthal is dedicated to preserving Malibu’s way of life while developing the city at a pace residents are comfortable with.
A native of Great Neck, Long Island, Rosenthal grew up immersed in politics.
“I come from a very politically active family. When I was in college, my dad was the elected mayor of our little town in New York and he had been a trustee and my mother was very involved in politics as well,” Rosenthal said.
It wasn’t until she graduated from college from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from USC that Rosenthal began to get involved in local organizations and government.
Starting off with no personal experience in government, Rosenthal built her résumé by becoming involved with her children’s schools, the Malibu Parks & Recreation Commission and the Malibu Public Works Commission.
“I became involved in our local education community as PTA president at the Point Dume Marine Science school and I was also on the PTA council for the district where I ran a number of education-related campaigns,” Rosenthal explained.
Rosenthal also helped bring together the Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS), whose objective is to create an independent Malibu school district. She felt that local decision making would serve Malibu students better because of differences in values and geographical distance from leadership in Santa Monica.
After serving so many years in volunteer positions in a number of organizations, Rosenthal felt she wanted a more direct role in the community and decided to run for the city council election in 2010.
In an interview with The Malibu Times in October of 2009, Rosenthal said, “After many years of civic involvement and volunteering in our city and school district, and for various other organizations, I feel that this is the time for me to concentrate on issues that are impacting Malibu. I look forward to leading the city toward positive change for its residents and coastal environment.”
Her thoughts today seem to echo that sentiment.
“I really wanted to have a little bit more influence in the community rather than having to rely on everyone else. It just made sense for me to move on to the next level,” Rosenthal said of her decision to run. “I was interested in public policy and really moving our city along but in a way that we the residents got what we needed and wanted but also keeping that small town feel.”
Rosenthal has served as mayor pro tem since January of this year. She took over for former Mayor John Sibert after being elected mayor by councilmembers during the Oct. 26 City Council Meeting. Lou La Monte was elected mayor pro tem.
Besides helping to run the city, Rosenthal loves to hike, read, cook and run a small practice where she helps mentor people about getting the most out of life.