ELECTIONS : SUPERVISORS : Howard, Davis Prepare for Tough Runoff

Simi Valley City Council members Vicky Howard and Bill Davis, who will face each other in November for the 4th District county supervisor seat, predicted Wednesday that their campaigns will be more hard-fought than during the primary.

Howard and Davis emerged from a field of five candidates in Tuesday’s election to qualify for the runoff.

“It’s not going to be an easy race for either one of us,” said Davis, who expressed concern about the wide margin of votes that Howard, his council colleague and neighbor, received Tuesday.

Davis received 25.4% of the vote, while Howard received 39.6%, according to tallies released Wednesday by the Ventura County registrar’s office. Challengers Glen Schmidt received 12.8%, Harold Fick 10.3% and Tom Ely 6.7%.

“I’m a little disappointed in the numbers,” Davis said. “The numbers tell me I’ve got to go out there and work harder.”

Davis vowed during the next five months to visit 20,000 homes in the 4th District, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and the Santa Clara Valley. He said he also hopes to raise $100,000, about twice the amount he raised for the primary, to operate a large phone bank and to buy more advertising to challenge Howard in November.

Davis, 62, said he and his supporters plan to wait a couple of weeks before officially kicking off the campaign.

Meanwhile, Howard said she is already working on her campaign for the November election.

“I’m not taking any time off,” said Howard, who spent Wednesday morning talking with her supporters about her strategy for the next few months. “We’re going to have a campaign meeting on Friday to put together an analysis of the voter turnout.”

Although Howard said she will reorganize her campaign to some extent, she declined to reveal details.

Howard, 55, said she is encouraged by her strong showing Tuesday. “It’s kind of a vote of confidence for what I’ve been doing over the years,” she said.

Although the candidates have taken similar positions on a number of issues--both agree on the need to reduce traffic, conserve water and provide more affordable housing in the southeast county district--Howard said her experience sets her apart from Davis.

In addition to serving on the council for eight years, Howard said, she serves on a number of county committees and organizations.

As the city’s representative on the county’s Transportation Commission, she said she played an instrumental role in getting emergency call boxes installed on the Simi Valley Freeway. She also worked closely with Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) to get extra lanes built on both sides of the freeway through the Santa Susana Pass, she said.

While Davis acknowledges a debt to Howard for getting him involved in politics--she recommended him for a seat on the Planning Commission in 1985 and supported his appointment to the City Council in 1986--he says he has accomplished more in his 3 1/2 years on the council than Howard has in the last eight.

He listed some of those accomplishments as getting the city to start a rent-subsidy program for low-income senior citizens and co-authoring a ballot measure--overwhelmingly approved by voters Tuesday--that calls for amending the city’s growth-control ordinance to allow more development of affordable housing for the elderly.

In addition to serving on the council for eight years, Howard said, she serves on a number of county committees and organizations

While Davis acknowledges a debt to Howard for getting him involved in politics-she recommended him for a seat on the Planning Commission in 1985 and supported his appointment to the City Council in 1986-he says he has accomplished more in his 3 1/2 years on the council than Howars has in the last eight.