The top three vote getters in the April 8 election will earn seats on the council.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Of the six people who picked up nomination papers from City Hall on Monday and Tuesday for the 2008 City Council campaign, five say they are definitely running.
The first to grab their nomination papers on Monday morning were Planning Commissioner John Sibert and Chamber of Commerce President Ed Gillespie. Later in the day, property rights activist Wade Major came by City Hall. Major is the only one of the six who did not guarantee he would be running for office.
On Tuesday, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education member Kathy Wisnicki picked up her papers, as well as two former City Council candidates, Jefferson Wagner, who ran in 1992, and Ryan Embree, who ran in 2006.
The top three vote getters in the April 8 election will earn seats on the council. Mayor Jeff Jennings and City Councilmember Ken Kearsley are termed-out, so there will be at least two new faces on the council. Mayor Pro Tem Pamela Conley Ulich, whose term also ends in April, has not indicated whether she will seek reelection.
Locals can pick up nomination papers through Jan. 11. They must return to City Hall with 20 signatures from eligible Malibu voters to become official candidates. If Conley Ulich chooses not to run, the deadline will be extended to Jan. 16.
Embree, 43, is a former member of the Public Safety Commission. When he ran in 2006, he finished fourth out of five candidates. He said this does not trouble him, several people elected to the City Council over the years have been previous election losers.
Embree said he is running because the current council has not been considering public safety in its decisions. An example he gave is four of the five council members supporting an overnight camping proposal by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in a straw vote in November, something which was later reversed in the official vote this month.
“It’s disappointing that 200 residents have to come to a meeting to get the City Council to come to the logical conclusion on the campfire issue,” said Embree, who described himself as a software programmer. “That is very symbolic of Sharon Barovsky’s control of the City Council over the last six years.”
Gillespie, 60, also ran in 2006, finishing last. At the time he was an unknown who had only lived in the city for a few years. Since then, Gillespie has become president of the Chamber of Commerce, and he says he has been closely following all the political issues.
“I think there’s a lot of things that need to get done in the city, and I’m the person to get them done,” said Gillespie, a yacht salesman. “I’m not affiliated with one [political] side or the other, but I want to listen to everyone and make decisions based on that.”
Major, 42, has lived in Malibu his entire life. He said he is “testing the waters and keeping his options open.” He is interested to see who else might run. But if he does decide to seek office, he says he will bring a unique perspective with him.
“I have seen the dark side of Malibu politics, and I think it’s time someone step forward to shed some light,” said Major, a film critic and entertainment journalist.
Although never a candidate, Major has been heavily involved in previous elections. In 2004, he filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent political opponent Ozzie Silna from being financially involved in that year’s election. Major lost the lawsuit, and Silna later sued him for attorney fees from the original suit. The matter is still not resolved.
Sibert, 70, has been involved in Malibu politics since before cityhood in the 1980s when he helped the fight against the county government’s proposed sewer system. He has served on the Planning Commission since 2002 under two different council members. With a doctorate in chemistry and a background working with environmental issues, Sibert said he has a great deal to offer as the city works on its ambitious project to create a wastewater/storm water treatment program.
“Malibu is at a point now where we can accomplish a lot of stuff,” said Sibert, who said he is semi-retired but sits on the board of several companies. “There are a lot of environmental issues, and I think I can bring something to the table.”
Sibert said he was encouraged to run by several people, including the council member who appointed him to the Planning Commission, Barovsky. But he said he was also asked to run by people who aren’t necessarily her political allies.
“I have never been part of any sort of coalition or any kind of group,” he said. “My candidacy is not an extension of anything.”
Wagner, 55, ran for council in 1992, finishing 11th out of the 20 in the field. He has a history in acting, including a seven-year modeling stint as the Marlboro Man. But he is most known today for owning the surf shop, Zuma Jay’s. As one of two partners in charge of getting the Malibu Pier back into full operation, Wagner has struggled. He said this is one reason why he is running for council.
“It’s to make up for my lack of performance with the pier,” said Wagner, who said a variety of reasons contributed to the project being so far behind. “It’s been kind of a bummer.”
Wagner said he would add a fresh perspective to the council.
“The city needs a little bit of that,” Wagner said.
Wagner’s main residence is in unincorporated Malibu. But he said he would move to a beachfront residence he has rented for many years, which is located in the city.
Wisnicki, 45, has been on the school board since 2004, and just finished her term as president. If she were elected in April, she would need to step down from her seat on the school board.
“After carefully considering where I could best serve the community, I decided that it’s important for me to be where I can solidify the relationship between the city, the school district and other municipalities in the region,” Wisnicki said. “I can bring a perspective that doesn’t exist.”
Wisnicki said as a council member she would not be solely focused on school issues. “I am interested in other issues such as traffic, the environment and public safety.”
Wisnicki’s term on the school board expires next year. When asked if she would run for a second term on that board if she were to lose in the council election, she said, “I’ll take on that issue as it comes.”