CAMARILLO : 2 Veteran Council Members to Retire

Two longtime Camarillo City Council members who have a combined 20 years of government experience have announced they will retire. Councilman Thomas Martin, who served on the council from 1970 to 1974 and from 1982 to the present, and Councilwoman Sandi Bush, who has served since she was elected in 1982, have announced they will not seek reelection in November.

Both members said they wanted to spend more time with their families.

“They have both been excellent council people,” said City Manager J. William Little, who was hired by the council in 1988 to pull the city out of a deep financial crisis.

As a result of that crisis, in which the city lost $25 million in public funds because of high-risk investments in 1987, the entire council received a crash course in financial management, Mayor Charlotte Craven said.

“Somehow, we have got to make sure that knowledge is passed on to the new members,” said Craven, who will seek a second term in November. “All of us feel that finance is the most important consideration.”

Little predicted that this year’s hot campaign issue would be growth.

Chris de Sales, an insurance company executive who publicly opposed a proposed development in eastern Camarillo, said he will support two potential candidates who plan to run on an anti-growth or slow-growth platform. De Sales declined to give names of the candidates. He said he would not run.

Gregory Gose, a tax attorney serving on the Camarillo Planning Commission, said he is considering running. Gose and his law partner, Kevin Staker, became active in city issues during the financial crisis. They worked to help elect Councilman David Smith in 1988.

Harvey Eisenburg, a retired executive for a defense contractor, is the only declared candidate so far, city officials said. He unsuccessfully ran for one of two open seats on the council in 1988.

The first day to file candidacy papers is July 16. Filing closes Aug. 10, except in cases when an incumbent is not running for reelection. In that case, the deadline will be extended to Aug. 15.