On the City of Malibu Campaign Trail: Issues Still Vie for Attention

• Even Candidates Rap Forums

BY BILL KOENEKER

There were some notable moments on the campaign trail during the past week when council hopefuls met during the last two forums before the April 8 election.
Candidate Kathy Wisnicki skipped both sessions indicating she had the flu on one day and told the Malibu Surfside News she ran a 102.5-degree fever the next.
The candidates have been campaigning long enough they have their talking points mastered and the lack of debate and rigorous rules of the forums kept most of the discussion on track with little chance of a misstep.
Incumbent Pamela Conley Ulich, who pronounced the so-called debate on Saturday “boring,” enlivened the session somewhat when she called for Malibu city officials “to take back” Zuma Beach, owned and operated by the county, at the Malibu Park Homeowners Association forum on Saturday afternoon.
Her response arose when candidates were asked if the city gets 10 percent of the parking fees from the beaches.
“We could take back Zuma Beach and get 100 percent. We are entitled under the law to do that,” added Conley Ulich, who has been spearheading efforts for the city to leave the county library system.
Council hopeful John Sibert agreed. “I kind of like taking back Zuma. I think we can do better battling with the county. We could do a much better job,” he said.
At the same forum, council hopeful Susan Tellem accused Sibert of being too closely aligned with the current council.
“The only real way to change the balance of the council is to vote for Jefferson [Wagner] and me. John and Kathy will be Sharon’s and Andy’s echo,” said Tellem, when candidates were discussing their position on eliminating parking on Morningview Drive.
“I take umbrage at Susan’s remarks that I am a pawn of Sharon. I am not a pawn of Sharon Barovsky or anybody else,” answered Sibert.
Tellem shot back, “I never said pawn.” Later at the meeting, Tellem insisted Conley Ulich will win a seat on the council. “She is a shoo-in,” Tellem said.
Wagner, who lived in the county and moved to the city to run for a council seat, said at an earlier forum sponsored by Corral Canyon homeowners on Thursday night that he did not see any difference between the city and the county.
The meeting was attended by about 20 individuals many who are not in the city and cannot vote but wanted to know the position of the candidates on how they will treat nearby neighbors and help fire victims.
“I have a vacation home in the canyon. I first moved to a home in Corral Canyon,” said Wagner, when council hopefuls were answering a question about what relationship council hopefuls would have with the county, if elected.
At the Thursday night forum a good deal of the discussion focused on fire and public safety. Sibert issued a white paper detailing his position on fire prevention and public safety.
Candidates were asked what they would do since the fire department changed its strategy in sending strike teams up to the houses. Candidates were told that is no longer done and the former policy offered better protection.
Wagner, who has a background in fire safety, acknowledged the strategy had changed. “Fuel loads have changed. That changes the strategy. The fuel determines where they go,” he said.
Tellem talked about her use of goats to clear property around her house and would be an advocate of such a solution city-wide. “Use more goats and have more volunteer firefighting,” she added.
Conley Ulich, who also supports a volunteer patrol, said it was air support that protected Malibu and more air support is needed. Conley Ulich, who said it is important to work with the governor’s office, also discussed about how the example of Matt Haynes could lead other folks to stay and protect their homes and cause problems. She said it is important for homeowners to have a town hall meeting.
Sibert said he did not think city officials were in a position to tell the fire department what is the best strategy. “I am afraid people will try to emulate what was done and will die,” he added.
Wagner said that Corral Canyon gets its water from the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and the reservoir serving Corral was full. “The supply was there. But there was no assessment. We need to have those resources identified from the air,” he said.
Sibert mentioned how the city could equip outside firefighters with GPS equipment instead of the small maps firefighters used.
The topic changed to traffic and council hopefuls were asked about traffic safety on Pacific Coast Highway.
To laughter, Conley Ulich said, “Go out of town,” but then acknowledged there should be some creative ways to curb motorists, such as requiring some kind of carbon footprint.
Wagner said he intends to call the radio station KNX and identify congestion on PCH. “Maybe the traffic will go the other way,” he said. “If you say PCH is blocked, they may turn around.”
Sibert talked about how Caltrans was supposed to have synchronized the lights, but did not get that done. “There are five jurisdictions along PCH. The sheriff does not understand traffic. We need to contact other cities to have a bigger voice,” he added.
Tellem said complaining to the sheriff about speeding could get results. “The traffic is getting progressively worse,” she said.
Tellem said more development in the Civic Center will add more parking which will bring more traffic. “We will have to walk to Santa Monica,” she quipped.
Candidates were given the opportunity to submit questions that were answered by all of the council hopefuls at the Malibu Park HOA forum. Three questions were selected and the candidates were given two minutes each to answer.
Council hopefuls asked each other about their views on Legacy Park. Wagner said he wanted to know if candidates are members of the Malibu Trails Association. Only Wagner is a member, yes, they all support trails. The third question was what four good things the city council had accomplished.
During the candidates’ introductions and concluding remarks it became clear the council hopefuls have developed their campaign speech and since they have been asked some of the same questions over and over again have stock answers to many of the questions.
What campaign observers have noted is that for the most part none of those talking points or stock answers have been challenged by the other candidates.
The candidates, apparently for better or worse, have decided to not conduct their campaigns in any kind of adversarial posture.
While the electorate, candidates and their handlers always talk publicly about how they want campaigning conducted on a positive note, the lack of debate and real challenge for the candidates’ positions may have left voters with a real dearth of information.