Malibu City Manager Resigns After Council Votes for Ouster
Malibu’s city manager resigned this week after City Council members voted to ask him to leave, apparently because they wanted more control over the city’s affairs.
The three-member majority voting in favor of City Manager David N. Carmany’s resignation Monday has taken a hard stance against most development. While the council members praised the work of Carmany, one said a city manager and staff should carry out the council’s philosophy.
“I think some city councils are happy to let the city manager run them,” said Councilman Walt Keller. “They take over completely and don’t want any interference from the rest of us. And we want more participation. That’s the view of some of us.”
Councilwoman Joan House declined to comment, and the remaining majority member, Councilwoman Carolyn Van Horn, could not be reached for comment.
The council majority has long expressed distrust of city bureaucracy, worrying that its staff would become too entrenched.
Keller has proposed that Malibu convert to a city administrator system, in which the person in the top post would no longer have the right to hire and fire staff. Instead, council members would have that power.
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