Candidate Editorial: Doug Stewart

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    Doug Stewart

    Preserving Malibu’s past and planning for our future

    Throughout my decades of business experience in finance, investment and budget management, I have learned the importance of always being prepared for a “black swan event.” In business planning, that term refers to a once-in-a-lifetime event that has a low probability of occurring, but when it does, the impact is irreversible, and everyone wishes they would have seen it coming.

    As we know all too well, 2020 has been full of black swan events that have brought unprecedented challenges to our families, local community and country. Here in Malibu, we faced the confluence of the Woolsey Fire, a budget crisis and COVID-19, all at once. With fire season upon us, a natural disaster may very well be the next black swan we face. The question really is not if, but when, and how prepared will we be?

    This November, the citizens of Malibu have an opportunity to help determine the answer to that question with the three Malibu City Council seats that are up for election. To ensure we have a city council that will protect our community, preserve our environment, provide needed public amenities and control development, we need future city council members with vision, experience and commitment. It is for these reasons that eight former Malibu mayors have already endorsed my campaign. 

    Our great city is in the midst of facing the worst financial crisis in its nearly 30-year history. We have gotten used to the luxury of a budget surplus, but now we have to look for ways to be creative, smart and pragmatic—the Malibu way of life we all know and love depends on it.

    In my role as vice chair of Malibu’s public safety commission, I had the opportunity to study and make important recommendations on disaster preparedness, keeping drivers out of harm’s way on Pacific Coast Highway, and managing the homeless in public places. One reoccurring theme that stood out during this process was the many potential solutions and alleviating measures that were obvious, feasible to enact and what some would consider as low-hanging fruit. 

    For example, one of the lessons the Woolsey Fire taught us was the critical need for working traffic lights during an evacuation. Following the fire, the public safety commission attacked this problem head-on and worked in partnership with public works and Caltrans to install a cutover switch inside every traffic control box on Pacific Coast Highway. The switch will connect to one of the city’s newly purchased portable generators that will be deployed when a fire is likely. The mere ability to keep traffic moving will improve fire department response times and potentially save lives.

    The challenges we face related to Pacific Coast Highway extend far beyond fire response and evacuation issues. Traffic safety is a persistent problem that must be addressed. To that end, one of my top priorities as your city councilman will be traffic management. Once elected, I will champion legislation to increase California Highway Patrol presence in Malibu, which is another simple but cost-efficient way to preserve and protect our community. 

    While outside agencies can be great partners, we have also experienced the downsides. For example, the California Coastal Commission and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy have a history of encroaching on Malibu’s local control over issues such as land use, camping, wastewater management and property rights. We should continue to work with these groups in a productive manner, but always have the tenacity and courage to stand up for Malibu’s rights. 

    Whether we are talking about local control issues, public safety, fire evacuation, homelessness, preservation of the environment or the city’s budget, it is clear that we are facing unprecedented challenges on every front. Our response to these issues will determine whether Malibu is able to remain the same place that brought us all here and caused us to stay, or something totally different and unrecognizable. 

    As an over-20-year Malibu resident, I have the utmost confidence in our community’s resolve and ability to come together to overcome these challenges. However, we also need the right leadership with the right experience for this unique moment in time. I have spent most of my professional career turning around businesses and planning for black swan events. I am asking for your vote for city council so I can use that same experience to help preserve Malibu’s past, and plan for whatever lies ahead in our future.