Malibu City Council Candidate Responses
Affirm Lack of Major Differences
• Answers Reflect Strong Sense of
Self-Confidence and Eagerness to Govern
The Malibu Surfside News asked the
candidates to respond to a questionnaire that queried city
council candidates on nearly two dozen issues.
What may be most remarkable about the
council hopefuls’ answers is that they agree on many
of the issues.
Everybody is against overnight camping. It
was listed as one of the top ten municipal issues when
candidates were asked to rank such topics.
Planning issues, the environment, emergency
preparedness, view protection and traffic all ranked among the
top five of a top-10 list.
Candidates also agreed on the need for a
Civic Center Specific Plan, opposed new taxes, wanted to study
whether to withdraw from the library system and shop locally.
Candidates were also asked to use the six
adjectives that best describe them.
John Sibert said, “Experienced,
knowledgeable, rational, visionary, dedicated and
mediator.”
Pamela Conley Ulich wrote,
“Innovative, independent, intelligent, effective, caring,
and courageous.”
Kathy Wisnicki put,
“Intelligent, thoughtful, good listener, big
picture thinker, excellent reasoning skills and
experience.”
Susan Tellem used, “Smart, funny,
passionate, dedicated, conscientious, and
persuasive.”
Jefferson Wagner wrote, “Pragmatic,
Calvinistic, succinct, effervescent, optimistic and to
remember my father; a humanist.”
The council hopefuls were also asked to
describe in past tense how they would like to be
remembered after having served on the Malibu City Council.
Wagner wrote, “He tried to instill a
lifestyle that reflected a past forgotten Malibu—a Malibu
where the new walls and fences were not as high as the egos
that built them. He tried to remind people that Malibu was once
an island community, not a town of individual fortresses. A
town where a person’s word meant more than their apparent
wealth.”
Wisnicki wrote, “As someone who made
a positive difference for the next generation and who was
responsive to the needs of the residents.”
Tellem replied, “Tellem did exactly
what she promised to do. She brought humor and intelligence to
the council and returned Malibu to the citizens it serves. She
was a woman of her word and a strong negotiator and consensus
builder when it came to the city council and other agencies.
She brought Malibu closer together as a community. She saved
lives.”
Conley Ulich responded, “It has been
said that it is not the dates on your tombstone that matter,
but the dash in between the dates. I hope my dash represents me
as a person who was respectful of others and willing to listen.
I hope to be remembered as the leader who was capable of
understanding our laws and balancing the interests of the
public, whose focus was on what unites us, not what divides us.
I hope I will be remembered as a forceful and effective
advocate who helped inspire others to make Malibu, and the
world, a bit better. Most importantly, I hope I am remembered
as a loving wife and mother.”
Sibert replied, “As a person who made
a difference in preserving Malibu’s unique character,
while acting within the rule of law.”
Some council hopefuls had their own
“pet” projects or issues they also listed on the
top ten. Conley Ulich said she ranked art as one of the those
issues, saying she supported the arts and as a result during
her term the community now has murals at Bluffs Park and Civic
Center, a summer outdoor movie program and a musical festival.
Tellem, who owns a PR firm, not
surprisingly named public relations in her top ten. She said
the city’s PR is in need of shoring up, citing how the
community has an image of being inhabited by rich celebrities
in the coastal town who are NIMBYs. She said that differs from
95 percent of the folks here in the city that are retired,
on fixed incomes, or may live in mobile homes.
Wagner cited bond responsibilities for open
space acqusition as a top priority.
However, differences did emerge when
candidates were asked to assess the performance of the current
city council and planning commission.
Sibert, who is on the planning
commission, gave it high marks, saying as a whole the panelists
do not promote a pro or anti-development agenda. He said the
council earned a B-plus in his book and had achieved a number
of positive accomplishments while putting the city on sound
financial footing.
Conley Ulich agreed, indicating she thought
the commission has done a good job, but she was disappointed
they did not vet more of the issues relating to the La Paz
shopping center hearing.
She also believed the city council had
accomplished a great deal and cited such things as the
acquisition of Bluffs Park and Legacy Park. She said the one
challenge she saw facing the council is how to be civil and
respectful of people who are often critical of the council.
Tellem disagreed, saying the council is not
in touch with the residents and works in a “lockstep
fashion, though Conley Ulich is the exception.”
Tellem was as critical of the planning
commission, saying it has lost its way and approves almost
every project that has come before it.
Wagner said the council is not as efficient
as it could be with four members of the city council seeing
things one way and one member having a different outlook.
He was more critical of the planning
commission, saying they rubber stamp projects with ease and the
continuous variances granted invite further litigation.
Wisnicki said the city council has done a
great job of land acquisition and obtaining grants. She
indicated the council needs to do a better job of coordinating
different agencies responsible for wastewater clean up and
stormwater. She said the planning commission works well
together and tries to be responsive to the rules and
guidelines.
Candidates were also asked about the three
best and worst actions taken by the council.
Sibert said his top three picks were
acquiring and planning Legacy Park, the acquisition of Bluffs
Park and putting the city on sound financial footing. The three
worst he described as the slow progress toward adopting
clarifying ordinances and coordinating Civic Center
development. Not enough outreach to other cities that share
Malibu’s issues and not enough effort to communicate the
positive image of Malibu.
Tellem said the best actions were working
against the LNG port proposal, enacting a no smoking ban on the
beach and buying a portion of Bluffs Park.
The worst actions, according to Tellem,
were not paying enough attention to the will of the people when
it came to overnight camping, approving $12.5 million in
more bond debt or what are called certificates of participation
and failure to enact a specific plan for the Civic Center.
Wisnicki said the best three council
actions were acquisition of Bluff Park, the purchase of Legacy
Park and obtaining grants for clean water.
The worst action cited by Wisnicki was
closing Civic Center Way at Winter Canyon Road.
Conley Ulich noted the three best actions
in the last four years were purchasing Legacy Park, acquiring
Bluffs Park and completing a stormwater treatment plant at
Cross Creek. The three worst council actions, according to
Conley Ulich, was failure to complete a Civic Center Specific
Plan, failure to adopt a formula retail ordinance and failure
to adopt green ordinances that promote sustainable development.
Wagner noted the two best actions were
opening the stormwater treatment plant in the Civic Center
area, the realization that 500,000 square feet of potential
buildout in the Civic Center is not feasible.
The three worst actions were a lack of a
Specific Plan for the Civic Center, lack of an evacuation plan
for Webster and Our Lady of Malibu schools and loss of state
funding for central park acquisitions.
Council hopefuls were asked to state their
position on the level of emergency preparedness in the city.
Wagner said that the first responders have
done their best in catastrophic events. He ticked off what the
city does have, such as CERT training and Arson Watch,
Sibert indicated the community learned from
the October fire. He said a manual should be prepared for
citizens and there should be alarms to alert residents to
disasters. The reverse 911, Sibert said, has a number of other
potential applications that could be explored.
Tellem said the city was “sadly
lacking” in the 2007 fires. She recited a list of what
went wrong. She said there needs to be an evacuation plan. She
said some kind of CERT training for animal evacuation should be
adopted.
Conley Ulich said the level of emergency
preparedness has increased, but there is more work to be done.
She cited numerous allocations made during her tenure for
disaster preparation and then insisted that the city had more
steps to take including holding a town hall meeting, prepare a
disaster manual among other items.
Council hopefuls disagree on whether
development agreements are a good tool. Wagner said they are
only as good as the lawyers who write them. He said sometimes
other concerns are shoved aside.
Tellem said that agreements could get city
officials in trouble and contended Malibu has a history of
litigation related to development agreements.
Sibert indicated development agreements are
sometimes the best way for the city to get some of the services
it needs.
Conley Ulich said it depends on the details
of the actual agreement.
Wisnicki agreed, saying she would need to
see the proposal. Candidates were also asked what impacts does
the city have on traffic.
Conley Ulich noted any new commercial
development has the potential of increasing traffic.
Tellem noted without a specific plan the
city could cause tremendous traffic problems. She said the city
needs to be more aggressive with Caltrans.
Wisnicki said better communications with
Caltrans are needed to solve traffic issues. Wagner said the
city does not own PCH, but does have 40 or 50 miles of city
streets. Traffic has a direct effect on city planning,
according to Wagner.
Sibert agreed that commercial development
particularly in the Civic Center impacts traffic. He said
“Z” traffic is the major cause of PCH traffic
tie-ups. He said working with other jurisdictions is important
for synchronizing signals and enforcing traffic laws on PCH,
and a better circulation plan needs to be developed for the
Civic Center.
