2 Ventura Incumbent Supervisors Taking Nothing for Granted : Jones Hampered in 2nd District by Sex Incident, Strong Challengers

Four years ago, Ventura County Supervisor Edwin A. Jones ran for reelection the easy way--unopposed.

Would-be challengers were probably deterred by his strong name recognition and a reputation for fixing homeowners’ routine problems, from flood control to the placement of stop signs.

But after his arrest for lewd conduct and a public confession of an extramarital affair, Jones has plenty of company in the June 3 election.

Four opponents, three of whom are making their first run for public office, are vying to represent the 2nd District, a mostly affluent and conservative area that stretches from the county’s mountainous east end in Oak Park and Thousand Oaks to the flatlands of south Camarillo and south Oxnard, and to the coast south of Port Hueneme.

The challengers include Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Madge Schaefer, businessman Nathaniel (Bud) Glickman, senior citizen activist Tony Lamb and developer John H. Byrd. Lamb is the only Democrat in a field of Republicans for the nonpartisan post.

Admits Affair

Last June, Jones was charged with lewd conduct and indecent exposure after police said he exposed himself to a resident of a Studio City motel, then confronted officers who questioned him. He later admitted visiting the motel for an extramarital affair.

Jones maintained his innocence, but the allegations forced him to step down as chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Critics, including several community activists in Thousand Oaks, declared that he was weakened politically.

The case ended in October when the key prosecution witness declined to testify. Jones pleaded no contest to reduced charges of public drunkenness and disturbing the peace, and was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $1,000 fine.

After the sentencing, Jones acknowledged that heavy drinking caused the incident. He said he sought marriage and alcohol-abuse counseling, and added that the episode pulled his family together.

“It drove me right down to my knees,” Jones, 55, recalled in a recent interview. “I did a lot of praying.

“I’m a much better person because of it . . . but I wouldn’t recommend it as a way to kick off a political campaign.”

Has Optimistic Prediction

Now, as Jones canvasses the upscale housing tracts of the Conejo Valley for a fourth term on the board, he predicts that, “if I’m judged on my record in office, things will turn out well.”

If no candidate wins a majority in the June primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.

Observers familiar with county politics believe that the general election will be a race between Jones and either Schaefer or Glickman, both well-known Thousand Oaks community activists.

“Ed Jones is probably still going to be a fairly formidable person to beat because of the grass-roots campaigns he wages,” observed Thousand Oaks Councilman Lawrence E. Horner. “It’s likely to be a runoff between Jones and somebody.”

“Ed Jones always seems to land on his feet,” agreed John V. Paventi, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee. “Madge Schaefer has a strong following in the Conejo Valley, but the most aggressive campaign seems to be run by Bud Glickman. He’s very well liked in the community and he’s attacking Jones where he’s strongest--by going door to door.”

Challengers Avoid Issue

The primary will provide the first test of whether Jones can survive the motel incident politically. Fearing a backlash, none of the challengers speak openly about Jones’ personal life. Privately, they assert that his integrity has been tarnished in a district where conservative, family-oriented images win elections.

Opponents say Jones lacks leadership abilities and claim that the district’s 118,000 residents have been shortchanged in county spending. Jones, in response, defends his record of “going to bat for people,” and points to his experience with budgets as the county braces for unpredictable losses of federal revenue.

“Frankly, I wouldn’t want to change Ventura County very much. I’d like to see us keep the high standards we have now,” remarked Jones, a lanky, part-time college political science instructor who often quotes Abraham Lincoln.

Personalized campaigning has served Jones well in the past, earning him easy victories in 1974 and 1978. Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 3-to-2 margin in the 2nd District, and the area has gone strongly for conservative candidates in recent years. Jones characterizes himself as a moderate conservative, while the other candidates range from moderate to conservative.

Accused of Improprieties

Opponents recently escalated their attacks on Jones by accusing him of campaign improprieties.

Schaefer charged that Jones sent out 800 letters at public expense in April to Newbury Park residents, using the announcement of street resurfacing to distribute veiled campaign material.

And last week, Schaefer and Glickman separately assailed Jones for incorrectly listing three political activists as endorsing him on ballot statements and campaign literature.

“This race is a question of representation and ethics,” Schaefer said.

Jones’ campaign manager, Larry Levine, said the letters were standard official mailings, and that the error in the endorsements was an honest mistake arising from poor communication between campaign workers and the three activists.

“No candidate would ever use made-up endorsements. It would be an embarrassment,” said Levine.

Jones replies to charges that the 2nd District has lost county projects to other districts by ticking off a list of facilities built during his tenure, including libraries in Newbury Park and Oak Park, an animal shelter in Camarillo, and fire stations in Oak Park and the Westlake Village part of Thousand Oaks.

Other Accomplishments Cited

As supervisor, Jones has focused on developing Ventura County’s emergency plan to clean up toxic waste spills, and he chairs the Southern California Hazardous Waste Management Authority, an eight-county group that plans toxic waste disposal strategies.

Jones recently sided with Camarillo residents who, fearing added noise and pollution, opposed the pending move of an Air National Guard unit from Van Nuys Airport to the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu. Noting the prospect of new jobs and tax revenues, however, the board rejected Jones’ plea, choosing instead to endorse the Air National Guard’s transfer.

Jones has also prodded the board to begin installing a system of solar-powered call boxes to line county freeways, providing emergency service to stranded motorists. The board in April approved an additional 48 call boxes for a coastal stretch from Ventura to the Santa Barbara County line. One experimental box, on the Ventura Freeway along the Conejo Grade, has been installed so far.

Jones, a former Thousand Oaks mayor, said he favors joint public-private support to establish shelters for the county’s estimated 2,000 homeless. He also said he supports the county’s policy of preserving farmland by discouraging its sale to developers.

Has Established Constituency

Schaefer, 44, has an established constituency from her eight years on the City Council and presents a clear contrast to Jones’ low-key style. A sharp-tongued politician, she has battled council majorities on a number of issues, and her colleagues in turn passed over her in selecting a mayor in 1985. Normally, members serve as mayor on a rotating basis.

Schaefer promoted a slow-growth initiative approved by city voters in 1980 that limits home building to 500 units a year.

Schaefer was also an early critic of establishing the city’s controversial redevelopment zone along Thousand Oaks Boulevard, an area including several high-priced office developments that officials declared “blighted” for redevelopment purposes. To offset the loss of property taxes to local schools, she lobbied for a 1984 agreement giving the Conejo Valley Unified School District $22 million from the redevelopment fund.

The councilwoman has also chaired the council’s affordable housing committee. She said 1,100 dwelling units were approved for subsidized mortgage interest rates.

Schaefer said that as supervisor she would shield essential welfare and health programs from budget cutting and court industry to bolster the county’s tax base. Like Glickman, she charges that Jones has concentrated on the politics, rather than the substance, of his office.

‘Wonderful PR’

“If you want a supervisor who sends you a birthday card, he’s the man,” Schaefer charged. “Ed runs a wonderful public relations organization and not much else.”

Glickman, a conservative business executive with a flair for sarcastic one-liners, has also pointedly attacked Jones at candidate forums.

“The 2nd District hasn’t gotten its fair share. Mr. Jones, after 12 years, has got one telephone,” he said, referring to the solar-powered call box installed on the Ventura Freeway.

A former appointee to the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission and owner of a Newbury Park dispatch service, Glickman, 64, has aggressively combed the district’s neighborhoods in the Jones style.

He has drawn support from the Thousand Oaks business community, as shown by a fund-raising party last December at the Westlake Plaza Hotel attended by 300 people.

Glickman last year led a group opposed to a Thousand Oaks ballot measure that would have increased property taxes to hire more teachers and thus reduce class sizes in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Voters rejected the issue.

He said he favors reducing red tape and fees for developers to encourage lower-cost housing development on other than prime agricultural land. He also said he would save senior citizens’ nutrition and assistance programs by approaching the private sector for support.

Takes Issue on Air Guard

Glickman has taken pains to blast Jones for his opposition to the Air National Guard move to Point Mugu. “I don’t think Jones understands fiscal responsibility,” Glickman said.

Tony Lamb’s entry into the supervisorial contest came as a surprise to many observers, who note his close alliance with Jones in launching senior citizens’ meal and transportation programs.

Lamb is not raising campaign funds, although observers believe his candidacy will attract significant senior support, drawing off votes that went to Jones in previous elections.

At 82, Lamb serves as the county’s senior citizens coordinator and runs a private group called Senior Survival Emergency Fund. The fund operates a 24-hour assistance service to aid low-income seniors in Ventura County, often paying for food or emergency medical services.

Cites Threats to Seniors

Lamb has used the race to draw attention to the threat to senior programs from federal budget cuts, and push for expanded county bus services and a proposed low-cost housing development for 5,000 elderly residents he calls “Seniorville.” He also favors board support for establishing a four-year public university in Ventura County.

Byrd, 41, owns a Thousand Oaks development and contracting firm and has stressed property rights issues. He joined the race, he said, because he grew frustrated with Jones’ performance on a complex zoning dispute in 1983.

Byrd contends that development of his mountain property in an unincorporated area of Newbury Park was stalled after Jones waffled in pushing county planners to approve grading plans.

“The county has enough restrictions on development,” complained Byrd, who said he would like to see developers’ fees lowered and housing growth promoted by allowing owners of farmland to sell it to home builders.