Councilmember Jeff Jennings has pulled papers for the April 2004 City Council election, signifying his intention to run for a second consecutive term and a third term overall. Jennings is the first incumbent to announce whether he is running. Mayor Ken Kearlsey’s and Councilmember Joan House’s seats are also up for grabs in April. Malibu Community Action Network (CAN), which opposed Measure M in the November election, is most likely to be a major force in opposition to Jennings’ candidacy. Jennings was a Measure M supporter. He said he anticipates a CAN opposition, but that having a major group opposed to his candidacy is no different than in previous elections. “It’s the same people who have been opposed to me in the past,” he said. “Although they certainly seem to have a tremendous amount of money this time.”
In response to Jennings’ pulling of the papers, CAN President Steve Uhring said, “Malibu CAN has not made a final determination of who it is going to support, although it very unlikely it will be Jeff Jennings.”
Jennings was on the council from 1994-1998. He then lost his seat in a tight race to Tom Hasse. Jennings was elected back to the council in 2000.
Pamela Conley also pulled papers this week. She could not be reached for comment. After papers are pulled, a person must return a list of no less than 20 signatures to City Hall to qualify as a candidate. The deadline to turn in the list of signatures is Jan. 16.