Malibu Leader Swaps Hot Seat for Alaska Job

Not many people would trade the sandy shores of Malibu for the chilly clime of Anchorage, but John Sibert is not like many people.

Sibert, a Caltech chemist, was one of the Malibu leaders whose testimony helped persuade Los Angeles County supervisors to reject a massive and unpopular $86-million sewer system in Malibu in 1987 because it went well beyond the scope and needs of the coastal community.

And Sibert was one of the Malibu leaders who served on a citizens committee that recommended that supervisors approve a small-scale and unpopular sewer system for the community last fall.

The first time around, Sibert was considered a local hero. The second time around, some considered him an enemy of the people.

“Somebody asked me what were the ups and downs of serving on the committee,” Sibert said Tuesday. “I told him the upside is that they throw a lot of mud your way. I told him the downside is that there are sometimes rocks in the mud.”

Such is life in Malibu, where political dissent can sometimes mean political suicide. Yet after three years of public service in Malibu, Sibert has emerged with his reputation intact and his resume expanded. He is moving to Anchorage soon to become the first executive director of the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, an agency created to finance research and development aimed at expanding the economic base of the nation’s 50th state.

Sibert, who has served on numerous local committees including the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, said the Alaska offer “was just too good to pass up.” The 52-year-old scientist said he has agreed to run the research foundation for at least two years.

“I’m not really going to Alaska to get away from this,” Sibert said of his role on the much-criticized sewer committee. “I’ve never pretended to stand for anything other than what I’ve said I stand for. It’s just that for a lot of the issues in Malibu, there’s a religious fervor associated with them. And in Malibu, there are a lot of strong-minded individuals who aren’t afraid to voice their opinions.”

Not Surprised

The former Yale University professor said he was not surprised by some of the negative response to his belief that a small sewer system was needed for some areas of Malibu. Nor was he surprised when supervisors expanded the system by 50% against his wishes and increased the cost to $43 million.

“Dealing with the county government of Los Angeles was more difficult than dealing with either the federal or state government,” said Sibert, who has done consulting work for U.S. Senate and House subcommittees. “In the county, even relatively minor decisions are not made at a level below the supervisors, and you end up with five people making all the decisions for an area of 8.5 million people.”

Sibert was asked to serve on the sewer committee by Leon Cooper, former president of the Malibu Township Council. Sibert joined the council, the most active political group in Malibu, shortly after moving to the beachside haven three years ago.

“I feel bad on John’s behalf because I asked him to join, and I knew we were going to get lambasted because we disagreed with some interests in town,” Cooper said. “But John’s a remarkable guy. If there is any one person in the community who helped to organize the basic arguments to defeat the monster ($86-million) sewer system, it was he. Still, we both feel that there are certain parts of the community where a sewer system is necessary.”

Coastal Commissioner Madelyn Glickfeld, who lives in Malibu, said Sibert has been an “incredible asset to the community.” She said he undertook many difficult roles with little regard for personal reward.

“One of the things that makes it so difficult here is that with people having such strong beliefs on both sides of the issues, there’s very few people to bridge the gap,” she said. “John tried to bridge the gap. Unfortunately, he found that there’s not a lot of constituency in the middle.”

Sewers were not on Sibert’s mind when he moved to Malibu 3 1/2 years ago after living in Venice for five years. He and his wife, Blanca Parra-Sibert, wanted to live near the beach but couldn’t afford the then-pricier homes in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.

“Today, I couldn’t even afford to buy my home,” he said.

Sibert moved to Los Angeles to work for the Atlantic Richfield Co., where he was manager of program research and head of the Corporate Resources Technology Laboratory. Several years ago he moved back to academia, becoming division administrator for chemistry and chemical engineering at Caltech.

In his new role, Sibert’s charge will be to reverse a trend that sees about 90% of Alaska’s natural resources exported to other parts of the globe. The foundation will sponsor research and development programs aimed at boosting the number of local jobs in the fishing, oil and timber industries.

Andrew Benton, vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University, who served with Sibert on the sewer committee, said Alaska’s gain is Malibu’s loss.

“Throughout this, John has been unfailingly objective and fair in dealing with every constituency, whether it be the county of Los Angeles, the Malibu Committee for Incorporation or the Malibu Township Council,” Benton said. “And he’s always done so with integrity and with a clarity of thought that is seldom seen on complex issues.”

Sibert said he expects to return to his Point Dume home after he finishes his tenure in Anchorage and will probably step back into the fray.

“I swear I’m not masochistic,” he said. “I’ve taken my shots here, but you can’t take these things personally. I really like Malibu, and it’s nice to know that some people really appreciated the work that I did.”