Candidates kick off the 2012 election season but face the challenge of the newly formed state Senate and Assembly districts.
By Megan Farmer / Special to The Malibu Times
The 2012 election season marks the first for Malibu as part of the newly formed 27th state Senate District and 50th state Assembly District, which were finalized late this summer. Some candidates are beginning to throw their hats into the ring and have begun their campaigns for the upcoming June 2012 primaries.
In addition to new districts, candidates will also have to deal with new rules implemented after the passage of Proposition 14 last year. Instead of primary by party, there is now one primary in June that is open to all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two candidates who receive the most votes will face off in the general election next November.
The new districts have served as a source of controversy in Malibu, and a challenge to potential candidates, especially for the new state Senate district. The first-ever Citizens Redistricting Commission, a 14-member commission of unelected officials, drew lines for the new 27th District separating Malibu from neighboring Santa Monica, and instead merging it with more inland cities, including Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Chatsworth and Stevenson Ranch.
Malibu officials worry issues that are important to their community won’t be shared by the other cities it now joins in their new Senate District.
“The goal is always to maintain a community of interest, and we don’t have anything in common with the cities in our new district,” said Malibu Mayor John Sibert. “We are the only coastal community and our issues pertaining to environment and traffic are much different from cities that are more inland.”
The new state Senate lines will prove for an interesting race as candidates must appeal to voters from contrasting communities. Fran Pavley, a Democrat currently representing Malibu in the 23rd District, announced her intent to run in late September. Pavley, an Agoura Hills resident, taught history at Chaparral Middle School in Moorpark for 25 years before she became the first mayor of Agoura Hills. She has represented Malibu for 11 years in the state government, previously serving three terms in the California State Assembly.
Both Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal and Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich have endorsed Pavley.
“Fran knows our issues and will serve as the best candidate for Malibu,” Rosenthal said. “She’s a strong environmentalist as well as fiscally responsible. She really knows how to get things done and gets along with people on both sides of the aisle.”
Pavley is currently the only official candidate for the new 27th state Senate District, although her likely 2012 opponent would be Republican Tony Strickland, who currently represents the areas joining Malibu in the new district. Strickland also previously served three terms in the State Assembly and is a business owner, serving as Vice President of GreenWave Energy Solutions, an engineering company that produces a variety of renewable energy products. An official from Strickland’s Sacramento office would neither confirm nor deny his candidacy to The Malibu Times.
Malibu’s new state Assembly lines for the 50th District have proven a little less controversial, remaining with Santa Monica, Topanga and Pacific Palisades. There are, however, other new areas including Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Miracle Mile, which will alter the electoral composition. Malibu’s current Assemblywoman, Julia Brownley, is not eligible to run in 2012 due to term limits.
Three Democrats have announced their candidacy for the state Assembly seat, including Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, former nonprofit CEO and policy advisor Torie Osborn and Assemblywoman Betsy Butler.
Bloom, a resident of Santa Monica for 27 years, is currently serving a two-year term as Mayor of Santa Monica. He has served two prior terms as mayor and was first elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1999. He has also worked as a family law attorney for more than 30 years.
Malibu Mayor John Sibert has endorsed Bloom for the state Assembly seat, citing him as “a friend of Malibu and someone we can rely on.” Sibert said he is confident that Bloom would provide Malibu with a voice in Sacramento.
Osborn has also received some key endorsements, including that of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whom she previously served as a senior policy advisor on homelessness, poverty and economic development. Osborn also served as CEO for four nonprofit advocacy and philanthropic organizations and was the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C.
Butler currently represents the 53rd District, which includes El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Marina del Rey. Butler was elected to the state Assembly in Nov. 2010 and previously was a board member of Equality California, a nonprofit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people. Butler has received the endorsement of California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.