Due to a large amount of backlash over his suggestion to end the program, Mayor Skylar Peak had to reach out to the public and explain his reasoning.

Mayor Peak Responds To Controversy Over Not Feeding Homeless

Nov 21, 2017

MALIBU—The mayor of Malibu, Skylar Peak, the mayor for the city of Malibu spoke up about his controversial request to stop a church’s program to feed homeless people in the area.

Mayor Peak spoke to CBS Los Angeles via Skype to address the concerns of many residents and individuals across the county.

Peak stated that the church “was never formally asked to stop feeding the homeless. Not at all.” “We gotta bring the people together because this is something that the city is compassionate about. Maybe we need to do it in a different location,” he added.

Skylar Peak was Malibu’s youngest person ever elected to the Malibu City Council when he took office in April 2012, and he was re-elected to a second term in November 2016. His term will expire in November 2020. Skylar served as Mayor from March 2014 to January 2015, and again beginning in April 2017. Mayor Peak serves as a Los Angeles County Fire Department Ocean Lifeguard, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Malibu Boys and Girls Club and as a City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Commissioner.

Peak’s suggested to have the Malibu United Methodist Church’s program moved elsewhere was elaborated upon during an informal meeting held by the Malibu City Council earlier in the week. During the meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Rick Mullen read off a series of complaints that Malibu residents sent in, each describing recent run-ins with homeless people in the area.

According to the Malibu Times, one woman stated that a naked homeless man broke into her bedroom while she was sleeping. Los Angeles County Sheriff James Royal indicated during the meeting that between 2013 to 2017, authorities received more than 3000 calls pertaining to homeless people individuals. Members of the Malibu City Council received death threats after news went public. Council member Laura Rosenthal reportedly said that members “have gotten calls from all across the country.” She stated that she “had to take [my] phone number off the city website” and “some of the emails you wouldn’t want them to go to anybody you know.” Mullen added, “we all got the letter from the guy who asked me ‘do I want to get shot in the back of the head or between the eyes.’”