He may have only lived in Malibu for eight years but Ed Gillespie is a man with experience. He was the president of the Malibu Chamber of Commerce in 2007 and was appointed to the Malibu Planning Commission as vice-chairman by the mayor of Malibu and currently serves as the chairman for the 2009-2010 term.
He also serves on the Malibu Zoning Ordinance Revisions and Code Enforcement Subcommittee and has been a member of the California State Sheriff’s Association since 2003.
As the owner of “Malibu Yacht Brokerage Gillespie believes Malibu should run in a business-like manner. Decisions must be made which are economically sound and for the good of Malibu and its citizens Gillespie says.
He assures that if he is elected, the City of Malibu will make fiscally responsible decisions with maximum input from citizens in order to prevent indebtedness like the debt currently incurred by the city.In this economy the City of Malibu should be more fiscally conservative. A great deal of money is being spent on Trancas Park and on the improvements to the new City Hall he said. I truly fear the City may be incurring too much debt.” In fact he has doubts about the $45 million debt the City of Malibu has incurred over the past year. “We need to step back and take a look at our financial situation or we will be facing trouble in the long run because this debt is just going to accumulate he said. But there are certain public facilities he believes the city needs, including providing care and activities for seniors and teens, an expanded urgent care center, an active senior center, and a teen center.Gillespie believes the most important municipal issue is Malibu’s public safety. The real problems of policing in Malibu are relatively simple — PCH and canyon speeding he says.
To eliminate commuters speeding through the city, he says that adding enforcement at the commute hours and stopping the aggressive drivers will do the trick. On top of that, he recommends adding k-rails, which will stop illegal left turns and the worst hazard of all — U-turns.
Another of his major concerns are the Malibu fires and the recent decree issued by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to only allow cold camping” and the enforcement by park rangers.
“All of us know all too well that the camping will not be cold and the sites will not be closed or policed during the wind events he said. Malibu is a commodity for these out-of-control agencies and commissions and the resident community be damned.” Worried for the safety of his Malibu neighbors Gillespie has organized a meeting with California’s ex-governor Gray Davis to discuss this issue at greater length. “Safety of the community comes first and I will do anything and everything in my power to make Malibu a safe place he said.At the first candidate’s forum sponsored by the Point Dume Community Association on March 11, Gillespie also expressed his concern over overfishing in the Malibu waters. People just have to stop and let the waters recover for a while or these waters will be dead he said.Education is also of great importance to Gillespie. He believes the City of Malibu should have its own school district and is long past the necessity of relying on Santa Monica.” He contends Malibu public schools are severely underfunded because budget priorities for the district are mostly in Santa Monica. Asked what could be done to change the system he replies: “The design of the administrative program the budgeting planning and related needs could be provided by the consultants who designed successful private schools in the region.” Concerned about retaining mom and pop shops in Malibu Gallespie believes the City needs to promote local businesses and encourage patronage. He proposed the possibility of transferring ownership of Zuma Beach from the county to the city and opening a tourist center there to inform visitors where to shop and eat around the city. Gillespie has received campaign contributions from development and business interests. With only two other candidates Laura Rosenthal and Lou La Monte ahead of him in the fundraising competition so far he has raised $7280 just ahead of candidate Mike Sidley’s $7124.His supporters include Malibu Country Mart owner Michael Koss and Trancas Country Market owner Dan Bercu. “I was the president of the Chamber of Commerce says Gillespie. I’m pro-business. I take (campaign contributions) from businesses.” But he also says that donating to his campaign does not mean someone is buying his approval.Koss said his donation to Gillespie is not an endorsement — in fact he is considering sponsoring other candidates’ campaigns too. “I and some family have supported Ed because he’s a personal friend and I do think very highly of him he said. But there are some other candidates that I also think very highly of.” Asked who he would most want to see elected to the other seat up for grabs Gillespie admits that apart from Harold Greene the only candidate who has run before the only other candidate he has really seen in a role of responsibility is John Mazza. “He has done a good job as a planning commissioner and has a very good understanding of the General Plan the Municipal Code and the Local Coastal Program he says of his fellow candidate.But Gillespie is not taking sides. He hopes to learn more about the other candidates as the campaign proceeds.