Meet the four candidates for Malibu City Council Play

Who are the four Malibu City Council candidates running for the two seats this fall? People are going to start getting their ballots in the mail within the next two weeks. Three out of four voters in Malibu use the U.S. mail to receive and return their ballots to the county.

This week we're looking at the candidates.

Amir Sam Dubai starts his stump speech like this: "Friends, locals, Malibuites, lend me your ears. The issues to me are simple — the fires, the floods, water safety, education. These are the things that bring any community together. These are the things we are lacking.

"This is not about making Malibu great again. Malibu has always been great. It is the best place to live in the world. Having our city threatened by fires, by floods, by a lack of basic safety — we can't even get to education before we have that."

To be candid, he offered no specifics on any of those issues at the debate.

Danny Smith is the other candidate trying to knock out the two incumbents. Smith says he's focusing on failings by the City Council to be strategic, to plan for fires, and to adequately help fire burn victims like his family.

He said, "I don't say all this to be a Cassandra or to share bad news, but only to point out that we are at a tipping point where we as a city can choose to become stronger and more closely knit, or we can continue to unravel further.

"I have great respect for all three candidates on this panel, including the two incumbents. I believe they're smart, good, well-intentioned people. I think they've shown that they don't necessarily have what it takes to get Malibu through this crucial moment."

Marianne Riggins is seeking reelection. She promises to continue her work to pry Malibu out of the Santa Monica school district — an effort that has finally gained traction. Riggins plays up her Malibu local heritage:

"I was basically born and raised here in Malibu. I went to what was Point Dume Elementary, Malibu Park Junior High School, and attended Santa Monica High School.

"One of the things that was really important to me for running, and I didn't hear the voice in 2022, was Malibu Unified School District — creating and implementing our own school district here in Malibu, apart from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District."

Doug Stewart is playing up his connections to the existing power structure in California. He's been working the levers of power to improve Malibu's standing among other cities, counties, and the state.

Stewart said, "I'm fortunate to have already received the endorsements for my reelection from Supervisor Horvath, Sheriff Luna, the Los Angeles Fire Department Union, and the Los Angeles Association of Deputy Sheriffs, as well as many of your friends and neighbors.

"I've been a resident of Malibu for over 26 years and I'm very proud to have been actively involved in the betterment of Malibu virtually every day since I arrived. I would like to mention that I've managed to get a reduction in homelessness from 250 down to 50. That's not all my doing — it's a bunch of people doing it — but I would like to take credit for helping lead that."

The audio was from the Malibu Township Council debate.

Ballots go out in about 10 days. The last date to vote is in six and a half weeks.