Some residents might not be aware of it based on the almost non-existent campaigning in Malibu this fall, but in addition to the various statewide races and ballot measures, there are also several local and regional races, which Malibu residents will be voting on Tuesday.
There are five candidates running for the four contested seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education. They are incumbents Emily Bloomfield, Oscar de la Torre and Shane McLoud, as well as education activists Barry Snell and Kelly McMahon Pye. Board President Julia Brownley is not running for a fourth term because she is the Democratic candidate in the contest to replace Fran Pavley as the 41st Assembly District representative.
Bloomfield, de la Torre, Snell and Pye have been endorsed by the Malibu Democratic Club and the powerful Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights political organization. McLoud has the backing of four of the five Malibu City Council members, lacking only the support of Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Jennings. Other candidates have received various other endorsements from Malibu leaders and organizations.
The SMMUSD campaign has been mostly low-key, with little disagreement among the candidates on major issues. No forums, except for the Malibu Democratic Club endorsement event, took place in this city. And during the forums that took place in Santa Monica, Malibu was rarely discussed. All the candidates are Santa Monica residents.
Four against one in SMC race
The race for the four seats up for grabs on the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees is a battle of four against one. Incumbent Nancy Greenstein, Louise Jaffe, David Finkel and Andrew Walzer, all Santa Monica residents, have the support of the teachers’ union. Meanwhile, their opposition comes from Sunset Mesa resident Thomas Donner, a former chief business officer and two-time interim president of the college. The college has a history of conflicts between the teachers union and the administration, although the two entities recently came up with a resolution to end a two-year salary dispute.
An expected Assembly shoo-in
Three candidates are running to replace the termed-out Pavley as the representative of the 41st Assembly District, which includes Malibu. Brownley is the Democratic candidate. Tony Dolz is the Republican selection. And Conrad Stefan Frankowski is running for the Libertarian party. With the demographics of the district, it is expected that Brownley will win the race easily. She surprised most political observers in the June primary, not because she defeated four rivals to receive her party’s nomination, but because she won so easily in what was expected to be a competitive race. Despite being greatly outspent, she finished eight percentage points ahead of the runner-up, Calabasas Mayor Barry Groveman.
Although most do not believe there is a chance Brownley could lose on Tuesday, this race has not lacked drama. Dolz, a member of the Minuteman Project, has dedicated most of his campaign to speaking out against illegal immigration. He has gone before numerous local political bodies, including the Malibu City Council and the SMMUSD board, accusing them of hiring illegal immigrants. Following his visit to an SMMUSD board meeting, Brownley accused Dolz in the local media of conducting a campaign stunt.
A biannual formality
Malibu’s congressional representative, Henry Waxman, is also up for re-election on Tuesday. Like most races for the U.S. House, Waxman’s elections for California’s 30th Congressional seat are biannual formalities. The congressman, who was first elected in 1974, is facing Republican David Nelson Jones, a 25-year-old businessman from Beverly Hills. There is also a candidate from the far-left Peace and Freedom party, Adele M. Cannon.