The deadline to register is Jan. 13.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Mayor Andy Stern and Councilmember Sharon Barovsky returned papers with 20 signatures of support to City Hall this week and are officially in the race for their two seats that are up for grabs in the April election.
Public Safety Commissioner Ryan Embree and Public Safety Commissioner and Chamber of Commerce Board member Ed Gillespie have announced their intention to run. They had not turned in signed papers as of Tuesday afternoon but said they would be doing so.
Barovsky was first elected to the council in 2000 in a special election after the death of her husband, Councilmember Harry Barovsky. She was elected to a full term in 2002. Barovksy wrote in a statement that she was proud of the council’s accomplishments during the past four years. She pointed to the settlement that could eventually lead to the purchase of a portion of Bluffs Park (the property is in escrow), the city’s potential purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site (the property is in escrow), the completion of a library needs assessment, an improved relationship with state agencies, a partnership with Santa Monica College, in which the two parties say they plan to build an educational facility and sports fields. She also wrote that she was pleased with what she wrote was an implementation of “a sound fiscal policy” for the city.
Embree has been on the Public Safety Commission since its inception in the ’90s. He said he is running for council because he can do a better job than Barovsky.
“To be fair and clear, there are a lot of things the City Council has done that I don’t agree with,” Embree said. “Going around getting a B-minus all the time is not excellence in government.”
Embree said the city has failed to get as much grant money as it could and is not aggressive enough with the California Department of Transportation, because it often spends money on Caltrans projects in Malibu that should be fully funded by the state agency. Embree said the council also spent too long creating the plastic foam ban it approved last year. The item was discussed over the course of several meetings and the ordinance to ban the material was revised several times. Embree said this was because the council members did not know what they were talking about and acted incompetently.
Stern and Barovsky would not comment on Embree’s accusations.
“I don’t respond to negative comments,” Barovsky said. “I’ll let our record speak for itself.”
Embree is a regular at council meetings and often speaks in opposition to the council during public comment portions of the meetings. Although sometimes he is the sole person publicly fighting the council on certain issues, Embree said he is confident he has public support.
“I shop at Ralphs at night because I can’t get through the store without someone telling me they agree with me on what I say and they tell me how stupid the council is,” Embree said. “Basically, they tell me to keep up the good work and encourage me to run for council.”
Gillespie bought a home in Malibu in 2002 and lived there and at a home in Beverly Hills until 2003, when he sold his Beverly Hills home and became a permanent Malibu resident. He registered to vote as a Malibu resident on Tuesday and has never voted in a Malibu election. But he said he has closely followed Malibu politics for several years. Gillespie owns Malibu Yacht Sales and has been on the Chamber board since 2004.
Gillespie said he is running for council because he is confident he can have a positive impact on the city. He said he likes Barovsky and Stern.
“I have a great deal of respect for both of them,” Gillespie said. “I don’t necessarily agree with everything they do and maybe a little fresh blood might be healthy.”
Gillespie would not get into specifics on what the council does with which he disagrees.
Stern was elected to the council in 2002 after serving as a Planning Commissioner. He said he is pleased with what the council has accomplished so far and wants to stay on board to see the completion of several projects, including the Chili Cook-Off site purchase and the proposed conclusion of it into a wastewater/storm water treatment program.
“I’m proud of my record,” Stern said. “If somebody wants to attack my record, that’s why we have campaigns in the United States of America.”
Stern and Barovsky have endorsed each other’s campaigns.
A person named Jan Swift pulled papers for a potential council run on Tuesday. Swift is not listed in the telephone book and did not contact The Malibu Times.
The deadline for potential candidates to return signed papers to City Hall is Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m.