Conley Ulich, Wagner and Sibert Win Malibu City Council Seats

• 35 Percent of Registered Voters Cast Ballots in Tuesday’s Election

BY ANNE SOBLE

With all but 17 of the 2901 ballots cast in Tuesday’s municipal election counted by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the winners of the three seats on the Malibu City Council were unofficially declared to be Pamela Conley Ulich, Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner and John Sibert.
Conley Ulich, resoundingly demonstrating the power of incumbency and broad-based campaigning, was the top vote-getter with 2115 votes.
A self-described outsider, Wagner garnered a solid second place with 1686 votes, more than 260 votes ahead of establishment insider/planning commission member John Sibert who received 1419.
The 17 votes that still have to be counted are insufficient to alter the final vote order.
Barring a request for a recount by fourth place finisher Kathy Wisnicki—a school board member running what was seen as a quasi-slate campaign with Sibert—who received 1392 votes (27 fewer than Sibert), these results will be certified by the city clerk and deemed official.
Fifth-place finisher Susan Tellem received 1163 votes, despite an attempt to piggyback some of her campaign materials with Wagner’s candidacy.
Measure D, the utility tax that the city asked voters to support to add taxation on cell phones and other electronics, in addition to land lines, passed 1657 to 961.
Measure E, a non-binding advisory vote to ask voters if they would recommend that the city council consider implementing a view protection ordinance won by 1624 to 1068.