Sam speaks out

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    In response to James Scott, I disagree. What efforts have you made, as a volunteer, to help the community obtain better services and value from a local business monopoly? The dismissal of Nidia Birenbaum from the Telecommunications Commission by Hasse was not only cowardly, but also rude and mean-spirited, done for ulterior personal political motives, in concert with Peacock and Chanel because Birenbaum would not go along with Hasse’s “program” calling for disloyalty to Keller and Van Horn, and concession to Falcon Cable’s business interests which have been adopted by Hasse to serve his desire to control the governmental channel to promote himself and his selected candidates for the next election.

    If Peacock is a “good” city manager, then why has he not put the cable franchise out for bid, as he promised the council he would, and as would be proper to gain the benefit of competitive bidding for citizens who are overpaying for poor service from Falcon. Have Peacock, Hasse, and Chanel made their deal with Falcon, and Birenbaum was “in the way?” Why did Chanel edit the commissioner’s report that made recommendations for citizens that were not in Falcon’s best interest? When Birenbaum civilly objected to censorship, she was screamed at and then dismissed. So much for democratic dialogue. It’s OK as long as it is not detrimental to vested interests.

    If Peacock is a “good” city manager then why did he say the public record (tape recording) of the last commission meeting “does not exist,” when witnesses saw the recording being made and Chanel announced that copies could be obtained from the City Clerk? Is it because Peacock acted out a temper tantrum and did not want evidence of his verbal abuse to be presented just as his “job performance evaluation” was coming before the council? He runs this town, but not well, or for the citizens, nor according to the council’s directions. That is why Hasse is so mutually obedient with Peacock. A complaint to the sheriff’s department will intitiate an investigation (there are at least six witnesses to be interviewed) for grand theft/destruction of public property.

    Hasse is a carpetbagger. He recently came from out of town, (Chicago where his mom is a councilmember), got Keller and Van Horn to appoint him to two commissions and obtained support from Remy O’Neill, Joanne Segel, Nidia Birenbaum and others and has deliberately cut off all ties to those supporters after the election, in a backstabbing obsession for control of the city and as a steppingstone for his political ambitions. As for his “list”, he repeatedly claims he is the only councilmember who does anything; another self delusion as demonstrated by the reasonable preservation of the best of Malibu since Walt and Carolyn began as volunteers against the nuclear plant. He has refused to attend informational meetings with the land conservancy, while secretly meeting with major developers to “cut a deal.” At least Jennings was up front about his development viewpoints. Hasse cannot be honest about himself, so how can he be honest with others? Birenbaum’s dismissal is an example, not just because it was done, but by the way it was done. How obvious. How shameful. Only the citizenry ultimately loses when good volunteer efforts are dismissed and loyalty is disregarded. Hasse should be recalled from office before he is able to finalize his current objective of controlling the upcoming election to empower his personal agenda that now serves the aggressive development of Malibu.

    Sam Birenbaum