Mayor’s Flyer Says Colleagues Met in Secret : Politics: His campaign consultant accuses the three members, including the mayor’s election opponent, of twice violating state laws.

In campaign literature, Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi is accusing fellow council members of violating state law by holding secret meetings.

In an interview Monday, Takasugi declined to name the council members. However, his campaign consultant said the mayor was referring primarily to Councilwoman Dorothy Maron, who is running against Takasugi in the November election.

John Davies, a campaign consultant from Santa Barbara, alleged that Maron and Councilwomen Ann Johs and Gerry (Geraldine) Furr met secretly last year in violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open-meeting law, and discussed the ouster of former City Manager David Mora.

He said another violation of the act took place recently when the same three council members met secretly to discuss a controversial management audit report.

In an interview, Maron denied that either meeting took place, saying that the allegations are simply campaign rhetoric.

She accused Takasugi and Davies of political mudslinging.

“They can be as dirty as they want, but I’m not going to be,” she said.

Johs and Furr could not be reached for comment Monday.

The allegations--the first serious charges in the campaign--are raised in letters that Takasugi has handed out during the past six weeks while campaigning door-to-door. Takasugi said he has distributed about 200 letters so far.

The letters, which were paid for by the mayor’s campaign, say Takasugi wants “to see Oxnard through these final years of transition from Ventura County’s doormat to Ventura County’s proudest city.”

“Getting the job done with the members of the City Council fighting and grandstanding to get newspaper headlines is very difficult,” the letters say. “Also the illegal back-room deals clearly made by council members must end.”

In the interview, Takasugi said one example of grandstanding took place last month when Maron voted along with Johs and Furr to delay the adoption of the city’s new General Plan, which will guide development for the next 30 years.

Takasugi suggested that Maron, who is campaigning on a controlled-growth platform, voted to delay the plan until the end of this month so she can take a stand against excessive growth closer to the November election.

“There is a lot of posturing and politicizing at the council meetings,” Takasugi said.

Maron has denied the accusation, saying that she voted to delay adoption of the plan because the document leaves many questions unanswered.

As for the illegal meetings, Takasugi declined to give names or examples, saying that he did not want to embarrass the people involved.

However, Davies accused Maron of leading several illegal meetings.

In the alleged meeting to discuss the city manager, who eventually was fired, Davies said Maron “lined up the three votes” against Mora in a private gathering that was not advertised to the public, as is required by the Brown Act.

Mora resigned in December, 1989, after receiving a 3-2 vote of no confidence.

Davies said the other alleged violation took place about May or June when the city was awaiting completion of a management audit by Cresap Management Consultants of Washington.

In June, Takasugi suggested that the city fire Cresap after the council learned that Cresap would be three weeks late in completing the audit. However, the proposal was rejected, with Maron, Johs and Furr voting to give Cresap the three-week extension.

Davies accused the three councilwomen of meeting secretly beforehand to give the three-week extension.

Maron denied Monday that any such meeting took place. “That’s not true at all,” she said. “That has no relationship to the truth.”