ELECTIONS: SIMI VALLEY : Candidates Focus on Economy, Annexation

Maintenance of the city’s economic growth and the proposed annexation of entertainer Bob Hope’s Jordan and Runkle ranches are the primary issues among candidates running for two council seats and mayor in Simi Valley.

Two-term Mayor Greg Stratton will face off against his only challenger, Alfred J. Wilson, a retired Los Angeles city bus driver, in the Nov. 6 election. Wilson concedes that he has little chance of victory.

Nine candidates, including Councilwoman Ann Rock, whose term expires in November, are competing for two seats on the council.

Councilwoman Vicky Howard’s term expires in November. Howard is running for 4th District county supervisor against council colleague Bill Davis, who still has a year left on his term.

Stratton, who has served on the council since 1979, said the city’s biggest challenge is maintaining economic growth in the wake of severe state budget cuts and rising taxes.

During the past 10 years, Simi Valley has seen an increase in businesses moving to the area, resulting in an estimated 15,000 new jobs. Its sales tax revenue has increased from $2.6 million in 1980 to $6.7 million in the 1989-90 fiscal year.

“I’d like to keep that direction and momentum going,” Stratton said, adding that his experience gives him an edge over his opponent in dealing with problems that may arise from a slowdown in the economy.

“If things get tough, and we have to take out the red pencil, I think I’m the best one on the City Council for doing that,” Stratton, 44, said. “I lived through it when we had to do it in the early 1980s.”

However, his opponent said the mayor’s longevity in office is a liability.

“I don’t think he’s done as much as he could,” Wilson said. “They have jobs coming in, but we need more.”

Another issue that has divided the candidates is whether the city should annex Hope’s Jordan and Runkle ranches.

While Stratton and Rock said annexation is worth pursuing, Wilson and council candidates Kenneth E. Wenning, John Etter and Bruce Kanegai have come out against the proposal.

All four said they are concerned about the environmental effects of a planned 750-house development and golf course on the Jordan Ranch southwest of the city. They said the County Board of Supervisors is the proper authority to decide whether the ranch should be developed.

“This is not something Simi Valley should get involved in,” said Wenning, a 42-year-old Los Angeles attorney. “Jordan Ranch is a regional issue.”

Fearing that the Board of Supervisors would vote down the Jordan Ranch development, Hope turned to Simi Valley in July with a proposal for the city to annex 2,308 acres of the property. Hope also asked the city to annex 3,495 acres of his Runkle Ranch northwest of Simi Valley.

Hope said annexation would prevent him from selling Blind Canyon, part of his Runkle Ranch property, to the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts to be developed as a landfill.

Stratton and Rock, along with the rest of the current council, are strongly opposed to a dump being developed at the gateway to the city. A landfill is already at the west end of Simi Valley.

The council has asked the Local Agency Formation Commission for an early ruling on whether annexation is feasible for the city to pursue. LAFCO is scheduled to vote on the matter at its meeting Oct. 17.

But if LAFCO decides against an early ruling, Stratton said the city will probably still amend its General Plan and go through the procedure of preparing a formal application for annexation.

Wenning said annexation of Jordan Ranch is not the only way to prevent a dump from being developed at Blind Canyon.

He suggested that the city work with Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson in preventing a landfill at Blind Canyon. Bernson, whose 12th Council District is a few miles east of the dump site, has said he is willing to work with Simi Valley to stop a garbage dump.

However, several candidates said the Hope proposal offers other benefits in addition to preventing a landfill at Blind Canyon. Marilyn E. Maurer, a retired Los Angeles schoolteacher, said the proposal presents an opportunity for the county to preserve 5,700 acres of open space.

Maurer, 57, is referring to Hope’s agreement to turn over 1,100 acres of his Jordan Ranch to the National Park Service in exchange for 59 acres of federal parkland needed for an access road to the planned subdivision. In addition, Hope is donating and selling 4,600 acres in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains to park agencies for a below-market price of $10 million.

“I think he’s offering us so much for nothing that you’d have to have rocks in your head to turn the deal down,” Maurer said. “Everybody has a price, and he’s figured out what ours is.”

However, council candidate Harold Fick, who ran unsuccessfully in the June primary for a seat on the Board of Supervisors, said the decision on whether to annex Hope’s property might best be left up to the public. The 52-year-old General Motors manager said he would favor placing the issue on a ballot for Simi Valley residents.

“That may be the answer,” Fick said.

Another issue that has divided candidates is a regional mall proposed for Simi Valley. Some candidates said the city does not have the population to support the mall, while others said the mall will create jobs and generate more money needed for city services.

Melvin Simon & Associates, the nation’s second largest shopping-center developer, has proposed building a $200-million mall on a 60-acre site just north of the Simi Valley Freeway, between 1st Street and Erringer Road.

The developer has said the mall, which will include five department stores, would create hundreds of jobs and generate up to $3 million in annual revenue for the city.

Although the majority of candidates in the council race support the proposed mall, Etter and Kanegai said they have reservations.

Both said they do not think that the city, which has a population of 100,000, can support a regional mall. They said Simi Valley residents already shop in malls in Thousand Oaks and Northridge.

“We’re getting to the point where we have to differentiate between our wants and our needs,” Etter, 45, said. “I don’t want to see Simi Valley turned into the San Fernando Valley.”

Wilson, the mayoral candidate, said he favors the mall but criticized the city for not getting it built sooner.

“They’ve been talking about a regional mall for 20 years,” Wilson said. “If you can’t get it in 20 years, something’s wrong.”

Here is a look at the other council candidates:

* Kanegai, 43, is an art instructor at Simi Valley High School. Kanegai, who moved to Simi Valley from San Fernando two years ago, said he would like to see more restrictions placed on developers to preserve the city’s rural character.

* David McCormick, 43, is a Simi Valley businessman active in civic and community affairs. McCormick said business and housing needs are among his chief concerns. “I think we as a community need to work together to provide more housing for first-time home buyers and to get the cost of housing down,” McCormick said.

* Judy Mikels, 45, is chairwoman of the city Planning Commission. Mikels said that, because the city’s population is expected to grow from 100,000 to 130,000 by the year 2010, the city needs to start placing more attention on areas such as traffic, affordable housing and air quality.

* Sandi Webb, 42, owns a Simi Valley architectural firm. Webb said she would like to see more recreational activities provided for the city’s youth. “We need a miniature golf course or an outdoor archery range,” Webb said, adding that such activities would help deter gangs.