Ventura, L.A. County Races Shaping Up as Filings Close

Twelve Thousand Oaks residents--including three housewives, a Democratic Party official and a 21-year-old waiter--will vie for three open seats on the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education this fall.

Filing for candidates in the Nov. 5 elections closed Wednesday for the Conejo Valley contest and for eight other local school board or city council races, including those in Camarillo, Agoura Hills and the Santa Clarita Valley. Last Friday’s filing deadline had been extended until Wednesday in these contests because several incumbents chose not to seek reelection.

In nine additional contests where filing did close Friday, 37 people have decided to seek seats, including those on the Simi Valley and Moorpark school boards and the Westlake City Council.

The Conejo Valley school board race is the most wide open because all three incumbents whose terms are up have decided not to seek reelection.

The candidates, most of whom are making their first bid for elective office, include Laurie A. Brown, educational consultant and former private school teacher; Weber A. Bunnell, student and waiter; William H. Henry, Jr., former school board president in Plainfield, N.J.; Therese Hughes, housewife; Larry S. Lindsay, financial consultant;

Tina Longenecker, a housewife and former president of Thousand Oaks High School’s PTA; Edwin L. McCalmont Jr., telecommunications technician; Gary Nelson, marketing director; Barbara Sponsler, homemaker and former bank officer; George Webb II, chairman of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee; Katherine Cox, business owner, and Mildred Lynch, educator.

In the Pleasant Valley School District in Camarillo, incumbents Robert W. Formhals and Dolores V. Rains will be challenged by Lynn Batty, parent; Gary Allen, businessman; Kim Elkinawy , businesswoman; Barbara B. Miller, community volunteer, and Peter W. Nichols, administrator, for three seats.

The Castaic Union School District will not have an election because both incumbents, Gloria Mercado and Irene L. Messey, are unchallenged. Because no one filed for the third seat that is up, the board will appoint someone to fill it, said a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office.

Another “non-contest” occurred in the Sulphur Springs Union School District in Canyon Country, where incumbents A. (Art) Wilde and Richard Keysor and hospital administrator Scott T. Seamons have automatically won the three seats because they were the only people to file. Still a third is in the Ventura County Community College District, Area 2, where the lone candidate was Newbury Park resident Ruth Oren.

In those races where filing closed last Friday, the candidates are:

In the William S. Hart Union High School District in the Santa Clarita Valley, incumbents Howard (Buck) McKeon and Saundra L. Loberg will be opposed by William Dinsenbacher, a programmer-analyst; Cameron Grade, chiropractic doctor; Dennis V. King, certified public accountant; Francis D. Thompson, education activist, and Dennis Wire, retired pastor-teacher. There are three seats open.

Competing for three seats on the Las Virgenes Unified School District board are incumbents Ronald Jauch and Betty Noling and Barbara Bowman, a bookkeeper; Amy Berns, school psychologist; Bill James, parent, and Roni Melago, businesswoman.

In the Oak Park Unified School District north of Agoura, incumbents Richard E. Daley and David E. Ross will face James Kalember, parent; Patricia Kavulic, parent, and Roger Wakefield, educator. Three seats are up.

Two incumbents on the Agoura Hills City Council--John Hood and Fran Pavley--will be opposed by Harlan Holmwood, a businessman; Hayden Finley, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s captain; Jack Koenig, teacher; Darlene McBane, a city planning commissioner; Louise Rishoff, an attorney, and Jean Williams, a tax accountant. Three seats are up.

Competing for the three seats on the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council will be incumbents Steven Iceland and Charles J. Monico and Ronald S. Parsons, attorney, and William Pursglove, businessman.

In the Moorpark Unified School District, where two seats are up, incumbents David J. Gutierrez and Charles B. Schwabauer will meet Tom Baldwin, research and development; Pia Botz, no occupation listed; Karen Chapel, credit manager; Dennis Hatland, educator, and Lynda Kira, bookkeeper. In a race to fill the remaining two years of the term of a recently resigned board member, Ruben Castro, social services; Patty Waters, educator, and John Wozniak, business administrator, have filed.

In the Simi Valley Unified School District, where two seats are up, incumbents Lou Roth and Tom Harmon will face a sole challenger, Pauline Brennan.

In the Oxnard Union High School District in Camarillo, all three incumbents, Sorrell Berman, Janet Lindgren and Jean D. Underwood, will be challenged by John F. Ragan, municipal administrative aide, and Don Van Riper, retired educator.

Saugus Union School District incumbents Marilynn Blaylock, Betty Lund and Michael E. Rayfield will be challenged by James Bacorn, a businessman.

Three incumbents in the Newhall School District, Howard Hill, Charles E. Pane and Pat Willett, will face a single challenger, Barbara Okroinck, a parent. Jay R. Manwaring, the only person to file for an unexpired term, has automatically won the seat.

Westlake Village City Council incumbents Bonnie Klove, Franklin Pelletier and Irwin Shane are facing a challenge from Anthony Plaia, a business executive.

In the Santa Clarita Community College District, Office No. 1 incumbent Donald Benton will face Diane Franceschi, a college administrative assistant. In Office No. 2, incumbent Linda Cubbage will be challenged by Danny Brown, a college instructor, and William J. Broyles, a retired college employee.