Malibu faces new era without representation on local school board.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
In a landslide win, voters passed Measure AA, the $295 million Santa Monica College District bond measure, last week on Election Day. The measure received 61.45 percent voter approval (55 percent approval was needed for passage). Measure AA earned 26,324 “yes” votes and received 16,514 votes in opposition.
The money generated from the bond will be used for college facilities improvement projects in Santa Monica, and for “providing college-level educational and library improvements at Malibu High School.” Neither the college nor the high school have given specifics on what those improvements will be.
In the race for three seats on the Board of Education of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, newcomer Ben Allen was the top vote getter. Allen was elected to the board with 23,134 votes. Incumbents Maria Leon-Vazquez and Jose Escarce were reelected with 22,143 and 19,533 votes respectively. Challenger Chris Bley placed fourth with 18,394 votes.
The three incumbents in the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees race were reelected. Susan Aminoff received the most votes with 21,940. She was followed by Robert Greenstein Rader with 21,300 votes and Margaret Quinones-Perez who received 20,408 votes. Heidi Hoeck placed a distant fourth with 12,969 votes.
Malibu’s representative in the State Assembly, Julia Brownley (41st District) was easily reelected to her second term. The Democrat received 80,754 votes (66.94 percent) to Republican rival Mark Bernsley’s 39,889.
As expected, former Assemblymember Fran Pavley cruised to victory in the race for the 23rd District of the State Senate, which includes Malibu. The Democrat received 173,107 votes (67.44 percent). Republican Rick Montaine earned 69,101 votes (26.92 percent) and Libertarian Colin Goldman received 14,464 (5.64 percent).
In another race of local interest, former Malibu resident Cynthia Loo lost to prosecutor Thomas Rubinson in the election for a seat as judge for Los Angeles Superior Court, Office No. 82. Rubinson received 1,064,226 (51.08 percent) to Loo’s 1,019,349 (48.92 percent). Loo had earned more votes than Rubinson in the June Primary Election, but had failed to garner 50 percent of the vote, forcing the runoff. She grew up in Malibu and is the daughter of Malibu activist Mona Loo.
Malibu residents go for newcomers in school board race
The SMMUSD Board of Education election brings in a new era for Malibu residents. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the city will be without a representative on the board. Board member and Malibu resident Kathy Wisnicki, who chose not to run for reelection, will attend her final meeting on Nov. 20. Newcomer Allen addressed this issue in a letter he wrote to The Malibu Times.
“I want to work hard to make sure that the new board continues to look to the needs of Malibu, and I hope that more Malibu residents will join me in advocating for Malibu youth by getting involved,” Allen wrote. “There are many ways to help with the governance of our district, including serving on our citizens’ District Advisory Committees.”
Allen encouraged Malibu parents and other residents to join additional school and youth support groups. (The entire letter can be found on page A4 in the Letters to the Editor section.)
Allen had received Wisnicki’s endorsement, who said in an interview this week that she is pleased with the victory.
“I think that Ben really has made a tremendous effort to understand Malibu issues, and he gets the nuances of these pretty complicated situations,” Wisnicki said. “He’ll do a good job.”
Wisnicki said she plans to stay involved in the school district after her term ends. She said she would like to remain on the committee that advises the board on the use of Measure BB construction money. She currently participates in the committee as a school board member liaison. Also, she said she is contemplating applying for a seat on the Financial Oversight Committee.
Allen also received the most votes from Malibu residents, earning 2,382 votes. He was followed by Bley (2,253), Leon-Vazquez (1,792) and Escarce (1,641).
Wisnicki said the large discrepancy between the votes for the newcomers and the incumbents was likely due to Malibu residents’ desire “to see change.” There has been a growing polarization between Malibu and Santa Monica, with many Malibu residents feeling the Santa Monica-dominated district does not care about Malibu.
The newcomers also received endorsements from The Malibu Times and several city council members, another reason, Wisnicki said, that likely led to the good showing in Malibu.
However, Wisnicki had endorsed one of the incumbents, Escarce. She said about his reelection, “He understands the situation and he has been working on understanding Malibu issues.”
Escarce told The Malibu Times this week that it is more important than ever before for the school board to reach out to the Malibu community.
“The things to do are pretty straightforward,” Escarce said. “I know people reasonably well in Malibu. Talking to them is a good idea, and having Kathy [Wisnicki] introduce me to new people will be useful. I think the important thing is showing up.”