5 Candidates In The Running For 3 Malibu City Council Seats
MALIBU, CA — Three City Council members are hopingto hold on to their seats for another term as they face two challengers vying to unseat them in the Nov. 5 election.
Incumbents Paul Grisanti, Steve Uhring and Bruce Lee Silverstein are facing challenges from Haylynn Conrad and C. Channing Frykman. The three highest vote-getters will be elected to the council for four-year terms.
Haylynn Conrad
Conrad, who has lived in Malibu for 17 years, says she's committed to protecting Malibu's natural beauty through responsible environmental policies, engaging the community while promoting transparency, and prioritizing public safety.
She's running on a platform of advocating for public safety, more comprehensive drought-prevention measures, reducing traffic congestion and promoting highway safety, reducing regulatory burdens on business, implementing stricter RV-parking regulations, and enhancing the city's response to homelessness.
Conrad's campaign website
C. Channing Frykman
Frykman, a pediatrician who has lived in Malibu for 10 years, counts PCH safety as among her top priorities. She has firsthand experience with how dangerous the road is: She was seriously injured after being struck by a car while in a crosswalk on PCH in 2020 and her husband was knocked unconscious after being hit by a car while he was riding his bike on PCH earlier this year, according to her campaign website.
She's advocating for "Main Street"-style improvements to PCH along with a long list of other responses to the deadly state of the road, including exploring the establishment of a Malibu Police Department to better manage the road. She lists her other priorities as building a strong Malibu school district; promoting "slow, smart growth" that protects the city's environmental resources; and bolstering the city's emergency preparedness.
Frykman's campaign website
Paul Grisanti
Grisanti, a real estate broker, is seeking a second term on the council. A five-decade resident of Malibu, Grisanti served on the city's first General Plan Task Force in the 1990s, for 19 years on the Public Works Commission, and on a Fire Flow study group before being elected to the council, according to his city biography.
He's running on a platform of continuing safety-focused improvements on Pacific Coast Highway, ensuring an adequate water supply for fire safety, building an independent Malibu school district with an eye toward equity, and fighting Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority proposals that he says would be bad for Malibu.
Grisanti's campaign website
Bruce Lee Silverstein
Silverstein is seeking a second term on the council. Silverstein, who has lived in Malibu for over a decade, has three decades of experience as a lawyer, including as a commercial and corporate litigator in high-profile matters, according to his city biography.
He says his legal expertise is of particular use to the city: He's the only lawyer on the City Council, making Malibu a rarity among California cities. As an attorney, he said he's been able to approach conversations with the city attorney in a critical fashion that's uniquely informed by his legal expertise. He counts among his accomplishments his championing of measures to improve safety on PCH, reduce the city's unsheltered homeless population, and reduce the risk of wildfires, according to his campaign website.
Silverstein's campaign website
Steve Uhring
Uhring is seeking a second term on the council. He previously served on the Planning Commission for four years. A three-decade resident of Malibu, Uhring had a career in business before turning his focus on what he terms "protecting Malibu's rural character."
He counts among his accomplishments helping organize a ballot initiative to block a large shopping center, raising money to purchase Legacy Park, negotiating a design for Trancas Canyon Park, serving on the team that crafted a Dark Skies Ordinance for the city, and founding Coast and Canyon Wildlife, a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation organization, according to his campaign website.
Uhring's campaign website
