SIMI VALLEY : Candidates Focus on Budget, Gangs

Maintaining economic stability, deterring gang and drug activity and a regional mall were the primary topics Tuesday night at a forum for candidates running for two council seats and the mayor’s post in Simi Valley.

Mayor Greg Stratton, who is seeking his third term in the Nov. 6 election, said the city’s biggest challenge will be to maintain and improve city services in the face of severe state budget cuts and the slowdown of the economy.

“The state budget crisis is trickling down to us very, very quickly,” Stratton said. “We are going to need leadership to continue the policy of balancing our city budget and squeezing everything we can out of the money we have to provide the level of services we have grown accustomed to.”

Stratton’s only challenger, Alfred J. Wilson, a retired Los Angeles bus driver, said the city’s main priority should be deterring gang and drug activities among its youth.

Several council candidates who participated in the question and answer session in the City Council Chambers agreed with Wilson that the city should help the Police Department expand its anti-drug programs in the schools.

Meanwhile, candidate John Etter criticized the current council for agreeing to lend more than $400,000 to Melvin Simon & Associates, the developer proposing to build a shopping mall in the city. The loan, approved last week, is intended to cover the cost of completing the environmental impact report and other planning documentation associated with the project.

Etter said a reimbursement agreement should have been drawn up before the loan was made.

“That’s absolutely poor business management,” Etter said, adding that he was not opposed to the mall but rather was concerned that the developer was demanding too much financial assistance from the city.

Councilwoman Ann Rock, who is seeking her third term, defended the council’s action.

“Melvin Simon doesn’t have carte blanche,” Rock said. “We will be reimbursed.” Rock said the firm has a reputation for being one of the largest developers of shopping malls in the country and “we can count on their word.”

Other council candidates participating in Tuesday night’s forum included Dave McCormick, Harold Lawrence Fick, Judy Mikels, Kenneth Wenning and Sandi Webb. Candidate Marilyn Maurer did not attend.

Simi Valley City Councilwoman Vicky Howard’s term expires in November. She is running for a county supervisor seat.