ELECTIONS / THOUSAND OAKS : Foes Assail Fiore for Timing of State-of-City Address

Thousand Oaks Mayor Alex Fiore was attacked Wednesday by his City Council challengers, who questioned Fiore’s decision to give the mayor’s annual state-of-the-city address just a few weeks before the election.

The annual address, hosted by the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, is one of the last official speeches the Thousand Oaks mayor traditionally gives before he turns the gavel over to another council appointee.

Fiore, who is seeking reelection to the council in November, addressed about 200 business and civic leaders in his 35-minute speech. He highlighted the city’s growth during its 26-year history, citing the rapid increase in population, median household incomes and businesses, and a growing city budget as signs of stable leadership.

The city has moved to protect ridgelines, preserved open space by creating 31 parks, encouraged business by issuing 12,000 permits and drafted a first-time home-buyers program that will make 250 houses available in the next few years, he said.

“We have retained the attractiveness that drew us to this valley in the first place,” said Fiore, who was one of the city’s founders in 1964.

The address garnered loud applause from audience members, who paid $18.50 a plate to hear the mayor speak.

However, three City Council candidates who did not attend the event took issue with the mayor. They said they felt it promoted Fiore’s bid for reelection only a few weeks before voters go to the polls.

“Everybody needs a soapbox, and when you’re in office, your soapbox is a little bigger,” said candidate Ray Grams, 26, a financial consultant. Grams gave a competing news conference at a corner of the former Jungleland site at the same time the mayor was speaking.

“I think it’s interesting that you have to pay to hear the state-of-the-city address,” he said. “When the governor or the President speaks, you don’t have to pay.”

Grams took issue with Fiore’s decision to highlight a controversial project to develop a government and arts center along with a private commercial venture on the former Jungleland site.

Elois Zeanah, another council candidate, said Fiore’s reelection bid may have colored his state-of-the-city speech. Contradicting Fiore’s account of improvements in traffic and transportation services, Zeanah said, “Things are not working well in Thousand Oaks.”

Zeanah said citizens are unhappy with increased traffic in the city of 103,000, the lack of affordable housing and development on the ridgeline close to City Hall.

“I say he’s putting a sugar coating on a bitter pill,” Zeanah said. “Since we’re going into an election, he would have us believe things are rosy when the horizon is dark.”

The mayor acknowledged that the current economic downturn nationwide could hurt the city’s ability to provide services.

“The state’s budget crises and the county’s translated into belt-tightening for cities,” he said. “We face a loss of as much as $1.2 million. But our long-range planning and prudent financial stance has taken shrinking dollars into account.”

Fiore said afterward that the cuts come in part from the county’s decision to begin charging municipal governments a fee for booking inmates into Ventura County Jail.

Candidate Michael Markey said he did not object to Fiore’s timing of his state-of-the-city address but acknowledged that the broadcast of the mayor’s speech on the city’s television channel could give the mayor a political edge among viewers.

“He has an edge on me already, because he’s on TV once a week,” said Markey, referring to televised council meetings.

Fiore, who is running for his seventh four-year term in office, said his one-year appointment to the mayoral post occurred a year earlier than scheduled in the council rotation after Councilman Tony Lamb two years ago decided to let Councilman Lawrence E. Horner assume his place as mayor.

Fiore has served three terms as mayor and has delivered the state-of-the-city address at least once before when he was running for reelection, he said.

“It’s coincidental that the mayor has given the speech at the same time,” Fiore said. “It’s just city business. This is the way it’s been operating for many years.”

The position of mayor is decided among the five-member council and is rotated each year. If the rotation occurs as scheduled, Councilman Frank Schillo would assume the mayor’s post next year, Horner said.

Horner, who has given the state-of-the-city address four times, said the address and elections have coincided since 1984, when the city decided to switch from April to November to coincide with the general election.

“There’s nothing unusual about that at all,” said Horner, who is also seeking reelection. “In fact, I don’t know how it could be any other way. He is the mayor, and he has to give the state-of-the-city address.”