Calabasas City Bid Lures 13 Candidates

If Calabasas voters approve incorporation as a city in a special election March 5, they will have their pick of 13 candidates for five seats on the new city council.

The candidates, who had until Thursday night to file election papers, will be on the same ballot with the cityhood proposal, the final step in a long effort by activists in the community of 27,000 to take control of their own affairs from the County Board of Supervisors.

Most candidates polled Friday espoused the need for “sensible development” in an area that has seen rapid growth over the past decade. The most pressing task confronting a new city, most candidates agreed, will be initiating city services and formulating a plan for environmentally sensitive development that preserves open space.

An obstacle to cityhood was eliminated last week when developer Cal Johnson abandoned his legal challenge to the incorporation. Johnson, who owns Freeway Properties, filed suit against the Local Agency Formation Commission, contending that the agency should have required an environmental impact report before approving the proposed incorporation.

Johnson feared that several planned road extensions would be canceled by a new city government, but dropped the suit when he was assured that the roads would be completed.

The candidates include the following:

* Jack Bethel, 33, a commercial loan officer with Union Bank, moved to Calabasas from Canoga Park three years ago, and since then has been president of two homeowners associations and served on the executive board of the cityhood committee for a year. Bethel, who has a degree in business administration from USC, said he can help the city establish financial responsibility.

* Writer Lesley Devine, 48, is involved in efforts to preserve Santa Monica Bay and the Santa Monica Mountains. She has been a director of the Topanga-Las Virgenes Resource Conservation District for a decade and served as its president for five years. She has also been active in the cityhood movement for more than a decade and served as president of the Greater Mulwood Homeowners Assn.

* Peter Eason, 35, a special projects coordinator for California Federal Bank, moved to Calabasas 1 1/2 years ago from Northridge, where he was president of the Variel Homeowners Assn. Eason, who has a master’s degree from USC in public administration with an emphasis on environmental management, also has been involved in the cityhood committee.

* Michael Fichera, a businessman and attorney, could not be reached for comment.

* Karen Foley, 54, a real estate agent, wants to ensure sufficient parks and recreational programs. Foley, who graduated from UCLA with a degree in recreation, has worked in the Los Angeles and Culver City parks departments. She also worked with Pierce College’s Department of Community Services. Currently president of a homeowners association, Foley has been active on the Cityhood Study Committee since its inception five years ago.

* Ron Gold, a graduate of UCLA and Loyola Law School, served as deputy state attorney general from 1972 to 1978. As a private attorney, Gold helped parents win the right to send their children to school in neighborhoods where they work instead of where they reside.

* Bob Hill, a stockbroker, has been president of the cityhood committee for five years, and previously served as president of his homeowners association. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

* Gary Klein, 43, a Los Angeles city planner, has lived in Calabasas for a year. With a degree in urban planning from Cal State Northridge and 15 years of planning experience, Klein said he could help the city write a strong general plan that would effectively manage growth. He is treasurer of his homeowners association.

* Jeffrey S. Kurtz, an attorney, was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

* Doris Laziolette said she has been “active in almost every community project that has come along” in her 25 years in Calabasas, including school projects and charitable groups. She has been president, secretary and treasurer of her homeowners association and was involved in the cityhood movement for seven years.

* Marvin Lopata, 49, an independent real estate appraiser who teaches real estate appraising, worked on the cityhood campaign for five years, served as president and vice president of his homeowners association and has been a delegate to the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation. An 11-year Calabasas resident, Lopata is also a member of a group of Conejo Valley residents studying the area’s long-term problems.

* Bill Melcher, an attorney, could not be reached for comment.

* Dennis Washburn, 48, a senior account executive for a marketing and advertising firm, has been active in the cityhood drive for more than a decade. He has a degree in political science and international relations and served as president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation for two terms and as president of the Greater Mulwood Homeowners Assn. for seven years. He has been a director of the Topanga-Las Virgenes Resource Conservation District since 1986.