AIRAN SCRUBY
Staff Writer
Andy Stern has always cared about people, which he thinks makes him a good fit as mayor in Malibu.
“In another life, I think I was a golden retriever,” Stern said. “I just love to help other people.”
Stern’s work as the mayor consumes several hours a week and involves working with the city council, attending events on behalf of the city and maintaining relationships with groups such as the Coastal Commission and Pepperdine.
Malibu elects five city council members, with each member serving a term as mayor. Stern was elected to the city council in April 2002, and began his term as mayor in April 2005.
Since he took office, further progress has been made in the city.
Malibu is in the process of purchasing Bluffs Park, a goal of the city for the past 20 years. Action has been taken to buy the land on which the Chili Cook-off takes place as well, and the city council’s efforts to work with the Coastal Commission to modify building requirements on the beach have been successful, according to Stern.
Stern believes that Malibu’s link with Pepperdine has also improved during his term.
“Our relationship with Pepperdine is better than it’s ever been,” he said, citing the city’s telecast of exhibits in the Weisman Museum through Malibu’s city cable channel and his friendly relationship with University President Andrew K. Benton.
Stern, a lifelong Los Angeles area resident, moved to Malibu to raise his family. He and his wife have a 15-year-old son and love the small-town feel of Malibu. Stern made the move in 1991 and lives in the Broad Beach area.
“I never liked living in L.A. until I moved to Malibu,” he said.
His family enjoys local beaches often, and his son hopes to attend Pepperdine after high school.
Stern is a third generation L.A. County resident. His grandfather was one of the three original shareholders in Universal Pictures. Growing up in Beverly Hills, he spent much of his childhood playing with children of Hollywood stars of the day, like those of Donna Reed and Doris Day.
He said he hated school as a child, but from early childhood, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer. “Maybe it was ‘Perry Mason’ or something,” he said.
He was always politically minded, and in his senior year at Beverly Hills High School, he served as class president.
Stern attended UCLA amid Vietnam War protests and pervasive drug use among college students, but said he wasn’t interested in the activities of his peers.
“Everyone else was protesting. I just wanted to go to class,” Stern said.
He loved U.S. history and majored in history before moving on to law school in San Fernando Valley. After graduation, he moved on to practicing entertainment law.
Stern spent time working with independent entertainment companies in financial trouble and was the first full-time paid attorney for an entertainment company in Los Angeles when he worked with Select TV in 1979. He also worked with video companies and in the late 1970’s worked in satellite law.
During this time, he helped television broadcast companies buy events for broadcast and arranged the details of broadcast for Muhammad Ali’s final boxing match.
After finding himself wandering into open houses and checking into real estate, he said he decided to stop practicing law and become a realtor. His job as the mayor is his secondary employment, as he continues with realty full-time throughout his term.
Stern’s term comes to an end next April. He has not yet decided whether to further pursue city politics.
09-15-2005