Conley Ulich is named mayor, and Wagner and Sibert officially join the Malibu City Council.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
City Councilmember Sharon Barovsky avoided an anticipated battle at Monday night’s first meeting of the 10th Malibu City Council when she proposed a compromise on the selection of mayor. Since last Tuesday’s election results, there had been a behind-the-scenes battle being waged between council members Andy Stern and Pamela Conley Ulich and their supporters through e-mails and phone calls.
Barovsky’s proposal, which was approved by the council unanimously, called for Conley Ulich to be named mayor for a 9.6-month term. Stern would then be mayor for the following 9.6 months, and Barovsky would conclude the two-year span with a 4.6-month term as mayor. Under the traditional one-year mayor system, all three council members would not have been able to be mayor in what would be the final two years of Stern and Barovsky’s term on council.
With council members and public speakers prepared for a verbal war, Barovsky said she did not mind sacrificing the length of her mayoral term “to extend an olive branch for what appears to be a divided community.”
“Unfortunately, the anger that could be shown tonight could set the tone for the future of this council,” Barovsky said. “And that would be, I think, really sad. Sad for whoever serves as mayor. More sad for the community at large because I really believe that good government can only be achieved through consensus and civil debate.”
Barovsky received a standing ovation after her comments.
Prior to the meeting, Conley Ulich’s camp had claimed she deserved to be mayor because she spent the last year as mayor pro tem and was the highest vote getter in this year’s election. Stern’s group said he should have the appointment because he was the top vote getter in 2004. Neither council member discussed this dispute during the meeting, and both applauded Barovsky for her proposal.
In an interview with The Malibu Times on Tuesday, Barovsky said she had calculated a plan that would not only resolve the current mayor debate, but prevent the problem from occurring in the future.
“It’s not about me,” Barovsky said. “I wanted to set a term to go into the future. Everybody in the future can have an equal amount of time. No matter who had taken the gavel last night, nobody can govern from division.”
Mayor terms of a year or eight months would not mean equal terms in the long run, due to Stern and Barovsky being termed out in 2010, Barovsky said. Five councilmembers each at period of 9.6 months, would total 48 months, or four years, a plan that would make an even, long-standing cycle.
“It shows amazing leadership,” said resident Howard Rudzki at the meeting. “[Barovsky] put the city over herself … that’s what this city is all about.”
Several meeting attendees who had planned to speak at the meeting in regard to the mayor issue declined after Barovsky made her proposal.
Ken Kearsley, who earlier in the meeting said his final words as a council member, spoke as a member of the public and praised the new council for starting on a positive note
“It’s not winning that counts,” Kearsley said. “The mayor is a nothing job … it’s cutting a few ribbons and building a consensus. This is not for you, this is for Malibu,”
But some people were not as persuaded that everything would be smooth sailing for the future of the new council.
Sam Hall Kaplan, a community activist, said the mayor debate “made me feel like I’m back in high school with a high school election and a high school council.”
Monday’s meeting also featured a change in leadership as newly elected members Jefferson Wagner and John Sibert, and re-elected Pamela Conley Ulich were sworn into office.
Conley Ulich distributed copies of her “100 Day Plan for Malibu’s Future,” which makes pledges on public safety, traffic, the Civic Center and green friendly plans to ban plastic bags and become “100 percent renewable by 2033.”
Malibu residents, government officials and other council members delivered speeches praising Kearsley and Jeff Jennings, who were both termed-out this year.
“These men have given, given, given…” Conley Ulich said. “They taught me how to be a better person and lead their role models by example.”
Government officials from nearby cities, the county and the state presented the outgoing council members with certificates commemorating their service.
Kearsley and Jennings were both elected to the council in 2000, and Jennings also served from 1994 to 1998. The two were given a chance to reflect on their time on the council and say their personal good-byes.
“I’ve been active in trying to preserve what is Malibu,” said Kearsley, who said he felt his greatest achievement in office was putting the wheels in motion to build Legacy Park, what he called a gift for the people of Malibu.
Jennings said he tried hard to build a unified council.
“We realized, if you don’t have three votes, you aren’t going anywhere,” he said. “The city has to speak with one voice … we’ve never allowed the differences to become personal.”