Arnold G York / Publisher
It’s showdown time in the town of Malibu and the question about whether or not you should vote Yes on Measure K (the $15 million bond issue) seems to boil down to a very basic question–Do you trust your local government?
After giving it much thought, I decided I’m going to vote Yes. In the final analysis, I do trust my local government, at least $15 million worth, which for most of us comes out to about $100 to $150 per year, depending on the assessed valuation of your home.
There is no question that we need open space for things like ball fields, a community center, playgrounds and parks, and the best way to get it is to buy it. The $15 million is not going to buy it all, or even a substantial part of what we need as a community, but it’s a beginning.
It will buy maybe 15 acres in the Civic Center area, which is only a small part of the 90-plus acre Civic Center. And we’re still going to need development deals, grant funds and probably private donations to do anything substantial.
I accept the fact that this is not a perfect bond and many of the criticisms directed at it are legitimate. It’s not very specific. In fact, it’s not specific at all, and some people have obvious difficulty with that. It’s not going to solve the traffic problem nor is it our one and only chance. However, it is a beginning and you’ve got to start someplace.
Perhaps, if they were asking for $50 million or $100 million, I would gag on its lack of specificity. But I’m willing to chance $150 a year or so without any guarantees. But if they mess it up, or go back on their promises, or it turns into a gigantic fight over where the money goes, I know this will be the last local bond issue I’ll ever endorse and, I suspect, that many of you will ever vote for.
Financing local improvements with bonds is a time-honored technique, and most communities carry some amount of bond debt. Presently, we have no bond debt and I think we, as a community, can tolerate a modest amount of debt.
The coalition put together to pass this bond is really a broad, cross section of this community. Its members represent most of the council, the leadership in the churches, the park movement, the parents, the organized sports groups and many others. They put together and held together a very broad-based coalition to get this bond passed (which, believe me, wasn’t easy) and I believe they deserve a chance.
But there is another side to this. Bond issues rise and fall on very local issues, but at the same time, they are very symbolic. There is a point at which a community has to step up and say, We’re willing to put in our own money. If we vote this one down, the message we send out to all other sources of funds, like the county and the state, is that we’re a bunch of elitists who whine a lot and then go around with our hands out asking for help but are unwilling to help ourselves.
Vote this bond down and we become a joke.
I don’t like being thrust into this situation, but that’s the political reality. So I’m suggesting you vote Yes and then watch the money very carefully.
It’s going to take a two-thirds Yes vote to pass this bond, so everyone’s got to go to the polls. Be careful. Some of the polling places have been consolidated for this election and you may not be voting in your usual place. We’ve listed all the polling places on the front page.
See you at the polls.