Candidate for
Member of the City Council; City of Malibu

JOHN SIBERT

Age: 70
Occupation: Technology Business Consultant

Since 1985, I have attempted to serve our Community. As a founding board member of Save Our Coast, I worked with Mary Frampton to clean up our ocean waters, stop pollution in our watersheds and prohibit Tapia’s dumping wastewater into Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. As a director of The Malibu Township Council, I spearheaded the effort to stop the County’s sewer plan, which would have drastically increased high-density commercial development in our area. As a result, I was honored by MTC as a “Malibu Community Treasure.”

For the last five years, I have served as both chair and present member of the Malibu Planning Commission where I have become familiar with building and development issues in Malibu. If elected to City Council, I will work to change the inconsistencies in our Local Coastal Plan that were imposed on us by the Coastal Commission. I also will work hard to tighten and clarify standards for building and development. Throughout my long tenure on the Planning Commission, I have tried to retain Malibu’s rural residential character while always being mindful that all decisions should be fair, equitable and based on law.

I believe my professional background offers a unique set of skills and experience to the Malibu City Council. I have a Ph.D. in chemistry and have been a professor and administrator at Yale, Caltech and California State Universities. In both industry and academia, I have managed research groups focused on environmental science, biotechnology, and alternative energy. I believe my technical experience can help sort out the often-competing agendas between environmental concerns and sound development practices.

As founding Executive Director of the $100 million Alaska Science & Technology Foundation, I instituted and funded programs in infrastructure development, environmental management and, most importantly, K-12 science and math education. That experience has given me a keen interest in public education, and as City Councilmember, education will be among my top priorities.

Finally, traffic on PCH continues to be a severe problem. I will work to convene the competing jurisdictions and agencies from Santa Monica to County Line. Improved communication between these entities will help bring some sanity to the control of our main artery.

Throughout my career, I have been an independent thinker – not part of any group. I have always sought to bring people together and heal wounds. These are skills I will bring to the Malibu City Council.