OXNARD : Ex-Councilman Says He’ll Seek Election

Saying he is “fed up with what I see happening in City Hall,” former Oxnard City Councilman Michael A. Plisky has announced his intention to run for one of two council seats in November.

Plisky’s four-year tenure on the council ended in 1988 when voters rejected his mayoral bid, reelecting Mayor Nao Takasugi to his fourth term.

Plisky, a 48-year-old business and tax consultant who is married to City Clerk Mabi Plisky, said he decided to run because he feels “council members are not in sync with the voters.”

In particular, Plisky criticized Councilman Manuel Lopez for supporting several large development projects that he said were not supported by residents.

“He is the one who annoys me the most,” Plisky said of Lopez.

In a press conference Monday, Lopez defended the city’s growth policies during the past decade, saying that reports of runaway growth in Oxnard have been greatly exaggerated.

The four-year council terms of Lopez and Councilwoman Ann Johs expire in November, as does the two-year term of Takasugi.

All three have announced their intentions to seek reelection.

Councilwoman Dorothy Maron has said she intends to run for the mayoral seat.

Retired Fire Chief Roy Lockwood, former city refuse coordinator Robert Randolph, city Parks and Recreation Department employee Bedford Pinkard, retired aerospace engineer Fred Schwartz and community leader Eleanor Branthoover have also filed nomination papers for the four-year council posts.

The filing deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.