Week in Review : Simi Valley : Ex-Grand Jury Leader Exits Supervisor Race

The field of candidates seeking to replace retiring Ventura County Supervisor Jim Dougherty narrowed to five last week, as former county grand jury Foreman Bob Pegg dropped out. Pegg, 64, of Simi Valley cited the death of his brother as his reason for pulling out of the race.

“I don’t think I will be able to devote the time to get in the campaign,” Pegg said, adding that he must go to Arizona temporarily to manage his brother’s estate. “It’s a full-time job to campaign.”

Pegg said his decision was unrelated to publicity over the fact that he notified the county elections registrar of his candidacy on grand jury stationery. He said he has no plans to endorse any other candidate.

“At this point in time, we’re just going to sit back and see how things go,” he said.

Dougherty of Simi Valley announced in February that he would not seek reelection to his seat in the 4th District, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and Santa Rosa Valley.

The remaining candidates in the race are Bill Davis and Vicky Howard, both Simi Valley City Council members; Glen Schmidt, a Moorpark planning commissioner; Tom Ely, a Ventura County Community College District trustee; and Harold Fick, a Simi Valley businessman.

Pegg’s withdrawal drew mixed reactions from some of the other candidates.

“I really don’t think it’s going to affect it much one way or the other,” Davis said. “You still have five more viable candidates in the race.”

Schmidt said he had been looking forward to Pegg’s participation in the race. Schmidt said Pegg worked for him as a field deputy when Schmidt was a county supervisor from 1971 to 1975.

Schmidt said that because of Pegg’s experience on the county grand jury and his past associations with other community organizations, such as the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce, Pegg would have made a significant contribution to the race.

Ely, whose own campaign has been clouded by allegations of gambling debts incurred at Las Vegas casinos, said Pegg’s withdrawal would not affect his campaign strategy.