From the Publisher: Things, They Are A-Changing

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Arnold G. York

The first change of the week is Malibu’s brand new mayor, Skylar Peak, who is serving his first term as mayor. Skylar has come quite a distance after a rather rocky start, but has apparently managed to get his life under control and settled down into the routine of being a city council member. The change is reflected in his council colleagues’ comfort with him. John Sibert is the new mayor pro tem. The city council is supposed to be a part-time job, but the reality is, if you’re conscientious, it’s more than a fulltime job and frequently consumes most of your time. 

Come this November, there is a county election for a new supervisor to fill termed-out Zev Yaroslavsky’s seat. The loss of Zev on the westside and in Malibu is enormous. When it came to budgets and dollars, there was no one on the Board of Supervisors more knowledgeable than Zev, and his clout with the other supervisors helped us get so much done in Malibu over the years. We will also sorely miss his field deputy Susan Nissman, who was always the go-to person in anything involving this part of his district. The election of his successor is looking to be a two-horse race between former State Sen. Sheila Kuehl and former Santa Monica Mayor Bobby Shriver. Normally, Kuehl would be the odds-on favorite, but Shriver carries an illustrious family name, a Kennedy family connection and the ability to raise a great deal of campaign money, so this race will probably be tight. When Wendy Gruel, who had strong Valley connections, declined to enter the supervisor race, everything changed. Both Kuehl and Shriver are liberal Westsiders and there is a good chance that the Valley voters, who are also part of this Third District, are going to be the deciding factor. No one is quite sure how they’re going to go. 

Henry Waxman, who has been a Dean of House seemingly forever, is quitting after 40 years, much to the relief of many Republicans. And there are 21 contestants who want to be his replacement in a district that includes Malibu. That’s not an election, that’s a reality show. It’s a plum spot because it’s a district that votes firmly Democratic, so whoever takes it can almost stay as long as they like, since Congress has no term limits and incumbents seldom lose. Gruel, a former LA City Council member and a hungry candidate, looks to be the front-runner, but there are several interesting candidates. This race may be hard to handicap. 

Nationally, the Democratic Party is throwing a fit because numbers guru Nathan Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com has predicted the Dems are going to lose the Senate majority based on his polling and analysis. Silver, you may remember, was formerly with the New York Times and absolutely spot-on in the Obama / Romney race, when many of the other pollsters were making some predictions that turned out to be very wrong. Silver has enormous political street cred and I suspect that the Dems are worried about raising big bucks with Silver giving them a thumbs down. Of course, in the 2016 presidential race, there are a number of vulnerable Republicans running, so we could have a few years with the U.S. Senate going back and forth. 

Closer to home, there are changes going on at The Malibu Times. Knowles Adkisson, our Managing Editor, is leaving the newspaper after four years to get a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley. We will miss his southern drawl and manners, as well as his wonderful writing and editing skills. 

Melissa Caskey, who has been our city hall reporter and Web Editor, will step into Knowles’ slot, as the Managing Editor with additional responsibilities including supervision of the city hall coverage. Melissa got her degree in journalism from USC, where she was also the Managing Editor of the Daily Trojan. She’s been with the Times for two years and the change-over will take place beginning in April. Knowles leaves at the end of April.