Council Bickering Taking Big Toll, Critics Say : Politics: Much of the fighting has been between Walt Keller and Larry Wan. Critics say it is costing city time, money and dignity.

MALIBU — The first weeks of Malibu’s long-awaited cityhood can be summarized in just three words: bickering, bickering, bickering.

Much of it has been between Mayor Walt Keller and Councilman Larry Wan. The two have butted heads on everything from toilets to the city’s controversial moratorium on construction, and the resulting political paralysis is costing the city time, money and, in the eyes of some, dignity.

“We don’t have a budget yet. We haven’t been able to get together to choose a city manager. There are a host of other issues that we haven’t gotten going on because everybody has their own personal agendas,” said Mayor Walt Keller, whom critics, of course, accuse of having the biggest agenda of all. To quote one irate observer, recent meetings have resembled a Harold Pinter play more than a legislative proceeding.

The biggest snarl has been created by the very subject that brought the council members together in the first place: a building moratorium aimed at slowing growth in Malibu. Council members can’t agree on how to extend the 45-day moratorium passed at their first meeting.

Staff members, pulled like taffy between the various factions, became so confused about what the council wanted them to do that at one recent council meeting they submitted four pages of true-or-false questions on the moratorium.

“We were trying to get a consensus from them,” explained attorney Christi Hogin. “If there’s enough division on the council, the staff comes to a halt.” Councilwoman Missy Zeitsoff, looking like a kid forced to eat broccoli, exclaimed, “I’m not going to do this stupid work sheet!”

During less than an hour at that same meeting, the following occurred. Wan stalked off the dais, angry that more of his suggestions had not been incorporated into the moratorium draft being discussed. Zeitsoff walked off to join him. The mayor grimaced and threatened to go home if they didn’t come back. Councilwoman Carolyn Van Horn said fine, she would go home too. The mayor accused Wan of not working for a consensus. Zeitsoff accused the mayor of not working for a consensus. Zeitsoff walked off the stage a second time. The audience jeered many times.

Such scenes embarrass supporters of cityhood. “It’s painful to watch,” said Leon Cooper, a longtime city resident and activist. “We’re making damn fools of ourselves at every meeting.”

Developers and other critics of cityhood gleefully pounce on the squabbling as evidence of the council’s incompetence. “It would be comical, in a soap-opera way, if it wasn’t so tragic. People are putting their personalities in front of the good of the community,” charged Brady Westwater, a real estate agent who is fighting the moratorium.

One problem may be that council members are not used to their new roles. They are no longer activists, and they can no longer fight blindly for their causes and convictions.

“They need to learn the art of compromise and building bridges,” said Dr. Susan Reynolds, a former president of the Chamber of Commerce who has long been active in city politics.

In the past, it was the council members who, as activists, attacked county officials. Now they find themselves on the other end, challenged by developers, real estate brokers and homeowners unhappy about the moratorium. “There’s a lot of friction because of the pressure we’re under due to the moratorium,” said Councilman Mike Caggiano. Several council members, though conceding that there is too much infighting, argue that differences of opinion can ultimately be productive. “I’d rather have disagreements than have us all be one great big marshmallow brain,” Zeitsoff said.

The problems are not due to lack of intelligence. Interim City Manager Bruce Spragg notes that three members of the council hold doctorate degrees, and two others are teachers. “It is the most intelligent City Council I have ever seen,” Spragg said.

But that has not helped keep the rivalry between Keller and Wan from taking center stage.

Keller calls Wan “mean” and charges that he is working on behalf of special interests and developers in Malibu. Wan, in turn, calls Keller a “fascist” who cannot tolerate dissent. Frustrated by what he terms the city’s inefficiency, Wan took the unusual step of hiring consultants with private funding to put together a study of the city’s moratorium. Keller charged Wan with circumventing the legislative process.

Observers say the feud in fact is not based on philosophical differences. “They just don’t like each other,” said Cooper, who considers himself a friend of both men. “They are both strong-willed individuals. They both feel theirs is the path of righteousness.”

Their feud goes back to the years when they worked on various grass-roots organizations battling for cityhood. Wan was a member of the Malibu Township Council, and Keller broke off to form the Malibu Committee for Incorporation.

The two groups worked together to battle the county, but the day after the election, they started battling each other. During informal meetings held by the City Council before incorporation, the council split 3 to 2 on numerous issues, with Keller and Carolyn Van Horn often in the minority. The split usually reflected old memberships in rival organizations.

Some observers thought things had changed when Malibu became a city March 28. Council members hugged each other for the cameras, and in a splashy show of unanimity passed the moratorium and 44 other items of business in one meeting--more business, critics grumble, than the council has managed to accomplish in the six weeks since.

But at the very first council meeting after the celebrations, members argued about the council’s office lease. They then squabbled over the wisdom of debating about low-flow toilets when the council had other things to do.

One thing that council members agree on is that the bickering has delayed them from getting a start on the business of jump-starting a city. No final budget has been set. The contract for the interim city manager needs to be extended, at $50 an hour for up to 60 hours a week, because the council has been unable to agree on the hiring of a permanent city manager.

Contracts with a host of agencies, including the county Health and Sheriff’s departments, have not been finalized. The city has not yet taken any action on developing its own plans for a sewer. Nor has it provided money so that the task force charged with putting together a community general plan can hire a planner. Landslides are blocking roads.

“We have a lot to do, and our differences are slowing us down,” worried Van Horn.

Council members are not sure what to do about their impasse. Spragg has suggested that the council go on some kind of retreat to learn how to relate to each other. Caggiano likes that idea, since he is convinced that the factions are a lot closer philosophically than they realize. “Basically, Dale Carnegie could set them straight in a day,” Caggiano said.

The mayor is less optimistic. Strolling on the beach, Keller compared the council’s behavior to a game of chicken. “We’re both speeding down the road, trying to see who’s going to swerve first,” he said.

Keller said he didn’t know if there would be a wreck or not.

* BUILDING BAN: Malibu City Council again fails to agree on extending controversial moratorium on construction. J7