As City Council Lumbers Into The Night, Accusations And Insults Fly From Silverstein, But Major Items Drift Off Into Night

Last night … the Malibu city council agreed on the Pledge Of Allegiance.

And as the city council meeting stretched until 1 in the morning … other agreement was scant.

Work was put aside … major items pushed off … as bickering and politics consumed the meeting. 

As soon residents said afterward … their worst expectations were fulfilled.

Last night … newly elected councilman Bruce Silverstein defended filing dozens of public records act requests … and demands for information … with the city.

He blasted the city manager … Reva Feldman … with blistering allegations … insulting adjectives… and hints of criminality.

No allegations of crime … he made it clear that he was stopping just short of that.

Just hints. Silverstein repeated that he has found the city manager to be discourteous … deceitful and duplicitous.

He repeated that he has no objections to any other city staff member … other than the city manager and city attorney.

Starting with deciding on the agenda … and on most every item after that … Silverstein raised long objections.

Reasoned and with lengthy evidence … but shot down by the majority in almost every case.

And he went after city manager Feldman …

Here’s one exchange … where Silverstein blistered the city manager for not immediately answering a budget question.

Silverstein had sent Feldman a multipart list of questions at four o’clock yesterday afternoon … just before the council meeting.

NEWSCART 72014 AUDIT DISCUSSION

SILVERSTEIN: “Why couldn’t you have just answered it?  When I … the question was … has any city other member of the city council seen …”

FELDMAN: “I was in meeting this afternoon, Bruce. I’m sorry … I know that …

SILVERSTEIN, INTERRUPTING: “I know but…”

FELDMAN, CONTINUING: “… you sent me an e-mail and I wasn’t able to answer it.  And I knew we were having a public meeting and this is the forum for the discussion so I hope we’ve been able to answer what you needed this evening.”

SILVERSTEIN: “OK, I am going to go on, and I really hope that the public observing the demeanor.  Because I know people don’t like my style … but this is not how I expect someone who is responsible to this council to be providing information.  You know?  It’s not.”

The voices of city manager Reva Feldman and city councilman Bruce Silverstein.

It got worse.

Mayor Mikke Pierson and Silverstein had numerous sharp exchanges.

It is impossible to do justice to the negative and sniping tone in a short audio cut.

But here is one.

Here’s Silverstein … asking for the city manager to send him an electronic copy of every single email that she sends at work.

NEWSCART 72013 BS MP LYING

SILVERSTEIN: “And by the way … that could be satisfied so easily by just copying me on each e-mail … as it goes in and as it goes out .. it would take a second.”

PIERSON: “And what I think is hard is it comes across as harassing because of your other actions.

And you say that you don’t mean it that way … but your other words and writings show different.”

SILVERSTEIN: “So … are you telling me … do you think that I’m lying?”

PIERSON: “I think that we don’t share perspective.”

SILVERSTEIN: “Do you think I’m lying?”

PIERSON: “I don’t know.”

Six hours of this … occasional agreement … mostly not.

City councilwoman Karen Farrer held her comments until late at night … and then said that Silverstein is demanding so much time and attention from the city manager that projects voted on by the city council … which need time and attention … are not getting done.

Farrer said that … under a council-manager system … the city council acts as one body.

No one councilmember gets to tell the city staff what to do.

Karen Farrer told Silverstein … there was a work plan … agreed to by the city council … before he got elected.

NEWSCART 72015 KF BS THIS CITY EXISTED

FARRER: “I would hope you understand … this city exists before you got on the council.

SILVERSTEIN, INTERRUPTING: “I didn’t know that.”

FARRER, STARTLED: “Excuse me?”

SILVERSTEIN: “I said ‘oh, I don’t know that.’ ”

FARRER: “Well … now you do.  We have a work plan.”

Silverstein was smirking.

Now … dozens of residents spoke last night … during call to the public.

It is impossible for us to properly edit that tape overnight.

We will bring you their comments tomorrow.

But one comment towards the end of the meeting stands out.

Former city council candidate Hamish Patterson … certainly … no friend of the city manager.

NEWSCART 72016 HAMISH DEFENDS

“What’s going on tonight has been real bad.  And I am in support of the theory of what Bruce is after.  But what I can’t support is the dehumanization of Reva.

“This is uncalled for.  I see it in Karen’s face.  I see it in your face, Mike, and I see it in you face too Paul.  And I know Steve … you’re a bad ass lawyer … but I can see it in you too.

“A line has been crossed tonight in dehumanizing someone in a public forum.”

Onetime city council candidate Hamish Patterson.

The upshot … what substantive did the city council decide last night??

Homeless issues?

Meeting adjourned at 1 a-m … before that could be addressed.

The so-called Wagner affidavit of alleged bribery?

Meeting adjourned at 1 a-m … before that could be addressed.

Setting up an independent investigatory commission?

Meeting adjourned at 1 a-m … before that could be addressed.

Change the way city hall operates … as requested by Silverstein?
Meeting adjourned at 1 a-m … before that could be addressed.

There was some other city council action last night … probably because no votes were involved.

The three new members appointed their planning commissioners.

Paul Grisanti appointed Dennis Robert Smith.

Bruce Silverstein appointed Kraig Hill … whom had been appointed planning commissioner by Mikke Pierson … but whom was removed by Pierson.

And Steve Uhring appointed John Mazza. The next city council meeting will be … we don’t know. 

Meeting adjourned at 1 a-m … before that could be addressed.