Council Names Fiore Thousand Oaks Mayor

Alex Fiore, a 21-year veteran of the Thousand Oaks City Council, was elected mayor Tuesday on a 4-1 vote by his colleagues.

And, in a surprise move, Councilwoman Madge Schaeffer declined a nomination for mayor pro tem. The move could signal her intention to oppose Ventura County Supervisor Edwin A. Jones in June.

“I plan to be very busy next year . . . with other obligations,” Schaeffer said. She would not elaborate, but a committee of her supporters has been evaluating her chances against Jones for the last several weeks.

First-term councilman Frank Schillo was selected mayor pro tem after Schaeffer’s withdrawal.

Fiore, who has served on the council since the city’s incorporation, became mayor for the fourth time. Schaeffer, who cast the vote against Fiore, said she was still angry over comments Fiore made last year after she was passed over for mayor and her daughter showed up at a council meeting to ask for an explantation of the action. Schaeffer said Fiore implied that she had urged her daughter to make the comments.

Fiore said he thought that the matter had been put “behind us.”