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4 | November 11, 2020 | MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS NEWS
malibusurfsidenews.com
Presumed City Council winners
talk priorities for Malibu
BARBARA BURKE
Staff Reporter
“Lawyers are trained to craft
laws, interpret laws, apply laws
and enforce laws. That is a large
part of what city council is
supposed to do.”
Bruce Silverstein
As America waited for
the final results of the presidential
election, Malibuites
last week also waited for
the final tally regarding the
three vacancies on the Malibu
City Council.
Eight men qualified for
the ballot and, as of Surfside
News’ deadline, voters had
cast the most votes — 2,107
— for Bruce Silverstein, an
attorney whose campaign
championed changing the
status quo in the council.
The candidate placing
second was Steve Uhring,
a member of the city Planning
Commission, who also
seeks to change the council’s
approach to governing.
Real estate agent Paul
Grisanti was the third top
vote getter, with 2,007
votes.
Trailing significantly behind
the top three are Doug
Stewart (1,870 votes), Mark
Wetton (1,774) and Andy
Lyon (1,773).
Incumbent Rick Mullen
lagged significantly behind,
receiving 1,393 votes, while
public policy professional
Lance Simmens garnered
just 896.
Los Angeles County elections
officials reported 8,738
registered voters in Malibu,
and voters were asked to
pick three candidates from
the field.
Whatever happens in the
final tally, the three winners,
running for open seats left
by termed-out members Jefferson
Wagner and Skylar
Peak and that of Mullen,
will join Karen Farrer and
Mikke Pierson on the fivemember
body.
The results remain unofficial
until the county certifies
them on Nov. 30, according
to Heather Glaser, the
Malibu city clerk who commented
on the vote tallying
process when responding to
a query from Silverstein that
was posted on social media.
“Ballots postmarked by
Nov. 3, but still arriving in
the mail, will be counted for
16 days,” Glaser said. “Ballots
uncounted because of
a mismatched signature or
missing signature remain eligible
to be counted if those
issues are cured by Nov. 28
at 5 p.m.”
Silverstein reflected on
the vote tally.
“I have been told that I
am the winner,” he said.
However, Silverstein noted
that it is mathematically
possible that some of the
other candidates could conceivably
secure a position in
the top three slots.
Malibu Surfside News
talked with Silverstein,
Uhring and Grisanti to learn
about the issues they perceive
to be of utmost importance
for the City Council
and each would approach
serving on the council.
Silverstein focused in
part on how his experience
practicing law will serve
him well. He also noted
the council has not had an
attorney as a member for
approximately the last decade,
whereas city councils
of most cities in Southern
California do include attorneys,
which, Silverstein
maintains, helps them govern
more effectively.
“Lawyers are trained to
craft laws, interpret laws,
apply laws and enforce
laws,” he said. “That is a
large part of what city council
is supposed to do”
“I practiced law for more
than 30 years, and I have
worked on many multi billion-dollar
transactions involving
all sorts of complex
issues and I also litigated
numerous complex matters,”
Silverstein continued.
“Those skills are needed on
the City Council because
the council fashions ordinances
and, in doing so,
council members need to
understand what they are
drafting.”
Further, he said, the council
decides appeals and
members need to understand
laws to properly resolve
appeals.
He also noted that the city
council considers and approves
complex contracts
and an attorney’s expertise
will be of great importance
when those matters present
themselves.
Uhring will also focus on
public safety and public employee
responsibility.
“Assuming I take office,
the first key issue we need
to deal with concerns better
decision making by the
council,” he said, citing
what he sees as some recent
examples of poor decisions.
“First, we had the Santa
Ana winds (in late October)
and the power went out
all day on the west side of
town. The city had previously
purchased portable
generators that were supposed
to be set out and
hooked up to the traffic
lights to avoid accidents at
intersections,” Uhring said.
“However, those generators
remained sitting in a building
someplace behind City
Hall. Therefore, clearly,
somebody did not make the
right decision to put them
out.”
City officials, responding
to the winds, earlier issued
a statement that, in part,
explained the generators
“were purchased with the
intent to provide power to
traffic signals in the event of
a fire and evacuations … not
… to provide power to traffic
signals for general power
outages.”
The statement went on to
say the affected traffic signals
“are owned and operated
by Caltrans and the state
of California.”
Citing another example
of what he characterizes as
inept governing, Uhring discussed
the council’s Nov.
5 consideration of a shortterm
rental enforcement
program that will become
effective Jan. 15, 2021.
“That enforcement ordinance
was passed into law
because there were a lot
of bad players in Malibu
operating short-term rentals
and causing nuisances,
destroying neighborhoods
and not being responsible,”
he said. “They were not appreciating
the fact that other
people in the neighborhood
had homes right next to their
short-term rentals.”
“We cast our action as
an enforcement ordinance
to address those concerns.
However, once again, the
city made a half-decision.
The ordinance that was
passed does not contain a
single word about how it
will be enforced.”
Uhring also cited addressing
the homeless issue
and dealing with traffic
nightmares on Pacific Coast
Highway as his other major
priorities upon assuming office.
Asked if it is tough to wait
for a final tally, Uhring assessed
the mathematics.
“There are only 12 votes
between myself and Paul
Grisanti. I’ll get on the
council one way or another,
whether as the second- or
third-place winner, because
the person in the fourth
position is a hundred-plus
votes behind me.”
Grisanti said he will focus
on residents’ most important
needs.
“The community still
wants us to do something
more to provide for their
safety,” he said. “I heard
at a meeting this morning
that there will be an extra
sheriff’s car each evening
in Malibu, so we will have
three cars instead of two and
I think that will be helpful.”
With regard to the parking
problems, Grisanti commented,
“I am hoping that
the (California) Coastal
Commission doesn’t file
any objections to the (recently
passed) no-parking
ordinance concerning parking
on Corral and Zuma
beaches.”
He also noted that the
first reading of the proposed
short-term rental ordinance
occurred on Nov. 5.
“I hope that provision will
be read again and will go to
the Coastal Commission,”
he said. “If it is rejected
there, we would have to do
a lot more work, so we will
have to wait for the com-
Please see CITY COUNCIL, 6