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4 | November 11, 2020 | MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS NEWSmalibusurfsidenews.comPresumed City Council winnerstalk priorities for MalibuBARBARA BURKEStaff Reporter“Lawyers are trained to craftlaws, interpret laws, apply lawsand enforce laws. That is a largepart of what city council issupposed to do.”Bruce SilversteinAs America waited forthe final results of the presidentialelection, Malibuiteslast week also waited forthe final tally regarding thethree vacancies on the MalibuCity Council.Eight men qualified forthe ballot and, as of SurfsideNews’ deadline, voters hadcast the most votes — 2,107— for Bruce Silverstein, anattorney whose campaignchampioned changing thestatus quo in the council.The candidate placingsecond was Steve Uhring,a member of the city PlanningCommission, who alsoseeks to change the council’sapproach to governing.Real estate agent PaulGrisanti was the third topvote getter, with 2,007votes.Trailing significantly behindthe top three are DougStewart (1,870 votes), MarkWetton (1,774) and AndyLyon (1,773).Incumbent Rick Mullenlagged significantly behind,receiving 1,393 votes, whilepublic policy professionalLance Simmens garneredjust 896.Los Angeles County electionsofficials reported 8,738registered voters in Malibu,and voters were asked topick three candidates fromthe field.Whatever happens in thefinal tally, the three winners,running for open seats leftby termed-out members JeffersonWagner and SkylarPeak and that of Mullen,will join Karen Farrer andMikke Pierson on the fivememberbody.The results remain unofficialuntil the county certifiesthem on Nov. 30, accordingto Heather Glaser, theMalibu city clerk who commentedon the vote tallyingprocess when responding toa query from Silverstein thatwas posted on social media.“Ballots postmarked byNov. 3, but still arriving inthe mail, will be counted for16 days,” Glaser said. “Ballotsuncounted because ofa mismatched signature ormissing signature remain eligibleto be counted if thoseissues are cured by Nov. 28at 5 p.m.”Silverstein reflected onthe vote tally.“I have been told that Iam the winner,” he said.However, Silverstein notedthat it is mathematicallypossible that some of theother candidates could conceivablysecure a position inthe top three slots.Malibu Surfside Newstalked with Silverstein,Uhring and Grisanti to learnabout the issues they perceiveto be of utmost importancefor the City Counciland each would approachserving on the council.Silverstein focused inpart on how his experiencepracticing law will servehim well. He also notedthe council has not had anattorney as a member forapproximately the last decade,whereas city councilsof most cities in SouthernCalifornia do include attorneys,which, Silversteinmaintains, helps them governmore effectively.“Lawyers are trained tocraft laws, interpret laws,apply laws and enforcelaws,” he said. “That is alarge part of what city councilis supposed to do”“I practiced law for morethan 30 years, and I haveworked on many multi billion-dollartransactions involvingall sorts of complexissues and I also litigatednumerous complex matters,”Silverstein continued.“Those skills are needed onthe City Council becausethe council fashions ordinancesand, in doing so,council members need tounderstand what they aredrafting.”Further, he said, the councildecides appeals andmembers need to understandlaws to properly resolveappeals.He also noted that the citycouncil considers and approvescomplex contractsand an attorney’s expertisewill be of great importancewhen those matters presentthemselves.Uhring will also focus onpublic safety and public employeeresponsibility.“Assuming I take office,the first key issue we needto deal with concerns betterdecision making by thecouncil,” he said, citingwhat he sees as some recentexamples of poor decisions.“First, we had the SantaAna winds (in late October)and the power went outall day on the west side oftown. The city had previouslypurchased portablegenerators that were supposedto be set out andhooked up to the trafficlights to avoid accidents atintersections,” Uhring said.“However, those generatorsremained sitting in a buildingsomeplace behind CityHall. Therefore, clearly,somebody did not make theright decision to put themout.”City officials, respondingto the winds, earlier issueda statement that, in part,explained the generators“were purchased with theintent to provide power totraffic signals in the event ofa fire and evacuations … not… to provide power to trafficsignals for general poweroutages.”The statement went on tosay the affected traffic signals“are owned and operatedby Caltrans and the stateof California.”Citing another exampleof what he characterizes asinept governing, Uhring discussedthe council’s Nov.5 consideration of a shorttermrental enforcementprogram that will becomeeffective Jan. 15, 2021.“That enforcement ordinancewas passed into lawbecause there were a lotof bad players in Malibuoperating short-term rentalsand causing nuisances,destroying neighborhoodsand not being responsible,”he said. “They were not appreciatingthe fact that otherpeople in the neighborhoodhad homes right next to theirshort-term rentals.”“We cast our action asan enforcement ordinanceto address those concerns.However, once again, thecity made a half-decision.The ordinance that waspassed does not contain asingle word about how itwill be enforced.”Uhring also cited addressingthe homeless issueand dealing with trafficnightmares on Pacific CoastHighway as his other majorpriorities upon assuming office.Asked if it is tough to waitfor a final tally, Uhring assessedthe mathematics.“There are only 12 votesbetween myself and PaulGrisanti. I’ll get on thecouncil one way or another,whether as the second- orthird-place winner, becausethe person in the fourthposition is a hundred-plusvotes behind me.”Grisanti said he will focuson residents’ most importantneeds.“The community stillwants us to do somethingmore to provide for theirsafety,” he said. “I heardat a meeting this morningthat there will be an extrasheriff’s car each eveningin Malibu, so we will havethree cars instead of two andI think that will be helpful.”With regard to the parkingproblems, Grisanti commented,“I am hoping thatthe (California) CoastalCommission doesn’t fileany objections to the (recentlypassed) no-parkingordinance concerning parkingon Corral and Zumabeaches.”He also noted that thefirst reading of the proposedshort-term rental ordinanceoccurred on Nov. 5.“I hope that provision willbe read again and will go tothe Coastal Commission,”he said. “If it is rejectedthere, we would have to doa lot more work, so we willhave to wait for the com-Please see CITY COUNCIL, 6
malibusurfsidenews.com NEWSMALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS | November 11, 2020 | 5Voters have their saySCOTT STEEPLETON, EditorWhile much was made about voting bymail in the Nov. 3 election, plenty of Malibuitescast votes the old-fashioned way —at the polling place.These days they’re called vote centers,and Malibu’s nearly 8,500 registered votershad three to choose from — ChristianScience Church, Malibu ElementarySchool and Webster Elementary School.The center at the Christian ScienceChurch on Pacific Coast Highway got aninflux of voters at 3 p.m., among themRichard Garvey.“Tradition,” the 58-year-old told SurfsideNews as for why he cast his ballotthere instead of mailing it in. “There’s justsomething about voting on Election Day.It’s just not the same if you do it a monthbefore and you send something in the mail.It could be a water bill.”While he was more than willing to discusswhy he voted when he did, it was adifferent story when asked if he cared toshare how he voted.“I talk about it with some people, not everybodythese days,” Garvey said. “Regardlessof what side you’re on, in Malibu thereare very strong opinions. So, why makemore enemies than you already have?”Garvey’s companion Wendy van Wessel,58, said, “It’s a shame you can’t havean adult conversation about why you likewho. It has been so polarizing and enemieshave been created.”“It shouldn’t be that way.”Garvey noted the late Democratic HouseSpeaker Tip O’Neill would have raucousfights with lawmakers from the other sideof the aisle, “then they’d leave it at the doorand go out and they’d have dinner together.”“Now everybody is full of hatred if youdisagree with them. It’s nuts.”The Christian Science Church vote centerwas also where Lizzie Gordon cast herfirst-ever ballot, arriving with her mother,Tami Gordon.“I only turned 18 two days ago and Iwanted the experience of going in and doingit,” Lizzie told Surfside News. “It wasthe one thing I was really excited aboutwhen I turned 18. I was like, ‘Nov. 3 is theelection. My birthday’s Nov. 1. It’s veryexciting that I can vote right after. That’sPOSTED TO malibusurfsidenews.com10DAYS AGOLizzie Gordon turned 18 on Nov. 1,making the Nov. 3 General Election thefirst in which she could vote — and to herit is “a biggie.” SCOTT STEEPLETON/SURFSIDENEWS PHOTOSRichard Garvey has been voting in personfor some time. “There’s just somethingabout voting on Election Day,” he said.very awesome.’”“It felt good.”Lizzie called this election “a biggie …So I really wanted to come out and vote.”Going in she knew her three choices forMalibu City Council. She also knew herWhite House pick: “I voted for Biden.”Tami told Surfside News she was proudto see her daughter become a voter.“It’s exciting that she came out and thatshe’s interested.”Was Lizzie following in Mom’s footsteps?“She has her own foot,” Tami said witha laugh.Lizzie said she’s well aware of the polarizedstate of the nation at this point andhow politics has come between friends andfamily.“I don’t think you should lose a friendshipwith someone over their politicalviews,” she said. “I don’t care who youvote for.”>>>>JOEY ESCOBARESCOBAR TRAINING GROUNDS310-457-7765escobarkarate.comSOCIALLYDISTANCEDKARATEKICKBOXINGBOXINGPERSONALTRAININGADULT&YOUTHONLINE, OUTDOORONE ON ONE ANDSMALL GROUPSESSIONS...29575 PCH - MALIBU
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