ELECTIONS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT : 9 Contenders Jam Slate in Ely Scandal’s Wake

Four years ago, hardly anyone bothered to run for the two open seats in the Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees. It was an easy ride for those who wanted to get into public office.

But all that has changed.

In the wake of the embezzlement conviction of James T. (Tom) Ely, nine candidates are vying for two slots on the college board this November. The race is larger than all the trustee elections in the past decade added together.

Voters in Ojai, Camarillo, Santa Paula, east Ventura and nearby county areas will have five people, including incumbent Timothy Hirschberg, to choose from.

And residents in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Fillmore and surrounding areas must elect one of four candidates to fill Ely’s seat.

While several of the candidates have sought public office in the past, most are political novices.

Candidates include a former associate superintendent and the court bailiff in the case against Ely, a 12-year board member who ran unopposed in the 1987 election.

One man is running on what he calls a “pro-God” platform, vowing to stop student health centers from advocating safe sex practices to prevent AIDS.

Another candidate is trying to downplay a child-molestation charge that still haunts him after six years, although the charge was dropped.

Although the candidates have little in common, all have cited the Tom Ely scandal as one of the main reasons for joining the race.

Already barbs are flying, mostly in the direction of incumbent Hirschberg.

Last week candidate Tom Jolicoeur, who lost to Hirschberg in the 1987 election, held a news conference blasting the trustee for being too hard on Ely, who along with his wife, Ingrid, stole $15,000 from the district by padding expense accounts.

Jolicoeur said: “Hirschberg has spent two years heading the litigation against the Elys, which could have been avoided altogether had the board and the administration decided to sit down with Tom Ely and solve the problem in-house.”

Jolicoeur, who served on the board from 1975 to 1979, also criticized Hirschberg for trying to take away Ely’s lifetime health insurance, which will cost taxpayers $70,000 over the next decade.

Hirschberg was “intent upon ruining the Elys,” said Jolicoeur, who owns a life insurance company in Camarillo.

But Hirschberg, 33, said: “I wasn’t intent on ruining the Elys. They’ve done a fine job of that themselves.”

Vernon C. Markley, the bailiff in the Ely case, criticized the trustee for not being tough enough on Ely.

“The board was asleep at the switch,” Markley said.

Hirschberg responded: “This is the board that woke up and caught Ely red-handed.”

Hirschberg said he had not anticipated so many bitter attacks.

“Four years ago, we couldn’t get any attention,” he said. “Now everyone and their brother is running. I think it’s great. I’m glad people are awake.”

But he said he hopes that his opponents will not allow the Ely affair to overshadow the educational issues and budget problems.

During a recent board meeting, Chancellor Thomas Lakin told the trustees that if the district does not watch its pocketbook, it could face bankruptcy.

“In a time of budget cuts,” Hirschberg said, “we need to maintain the same vitality and community spirit the community colleges have been built on.”

In addition to Markley and Jolicoeur, Hirschberg is facing two other opponents in Area 3. They are Al Pacheco, an administrator for an aerospace company, and Michael Musca, senior financial analyst for Ventura County.

Musca, 33, of east Ventura, emphasizes his financial background. On a recent Saturday, he spent the morning campaigning at the Farmers Market in Ventura, telling prospective voters, “When you vote, think of M for Money, M for Musca.”

“We need to police-dog the budget,” he said. If elected, he said, he will work to cut district administration costs.

Musca, a Marine reservist, was placed on active duty during the Gulf War and sent to fill in at Camp Pendleton, where he was sent news of Ely’s problems.

“I said to myself, ‘If I ever get home, I’m going to run,’ ” said Musca, the father of two young children. “It’s a shame they should let so much money go out the window.”

Al Pacheco, 31, listed similar reasons for joining the race.

“The politicians who are in office have a tax-and-spend attitude,” said Pacheco, of Camarillo. “We need to break that. We need new blood on board.”

Pacheco said initially that the Tom Ely scandal prompted him to join the race, but then he decided that the board is “a good place to serve the community.”

“I’m a voter, I’m a citizen and I’m a taxpayer,” he said. “Coupled with that, my current job is in program management. I can put together the best service for our customer at the best price.”

Markley, who has been a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy since 1973, said he serves as a trustee on the Ventura County Employees Board of Retirement and is well versed in budget issues.

Markely, who has a master’s degree in public administration from Pepperdine University, sat through all the testimony at the six-week Ely trial as the court bailiff. He said he was offended by the lack of integrity in the college district.

“Isn’t that what it’s all about?” said Markley, 43. “My top goal would be to reinstate that integrity. The students and the teachers and all the classified staff deserve that.”

Jolicoeur, who was a controversial figure when he served on the board in the 1970s, said he would like to do away with the upper echelon of the district administration and give more power to the colleges.

“Let’s fire the chancellor,” said Jolicoeur, 70. “Let’s give the colleges autonomy.”

Plus, Jolicoeur said, he would like to see Moorpark College get more representation on the board.

“Because of Tom’s problems, Moorpark College has been neglected,” Jolicoeur said. “Several of my children have gone to school there and it’s close to my heart.”

In addition to solving financial problems, Hirschberg said he wants to continue to strengthen the academic standards at the colleges and update the programs.

“For me and countless thousands . . . the community colleges were there for them,” Hirschberg said. “I want to make sure the door is always open in Ventura County.”

Hirschberg, who has a degree from Ventura College of Law, handles civil cases at a law firm in the San Fernando Valley.

In Area 4, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark and Fillmore, four candidates are vying for the slot vacated by Ely.

They include: Allan W. Jacobs, retired associate superintendent at Simi Valley Unified School District; Marilyn Maurer, retired high school home-economics teacher; Theodore Fautz, electrical engineer and businessman; and Terry Timmons, a part-time photography instructor at Ventura College.

So far during the race, Timmons, 45, of Fillmore, has been haunted by his past.

Six years ago, he was accused of molesting a 9-year-old boy. Eventually charges were dropped against Timmons, who has always maintained his innocence, after a jury could not reach a decision on his guilt or innocence.

“It was the era of McMartin,” said Timmons, citing the highly publicized case in which the owner and teachers at McMartin Pre-School in Los Angeles were accused of abusing children. None of the defendants was found guilty.

He said he hopes that the incident will not overshadow his qualifications. He said as an instructor at Ventura College, he has valuable insight into the district.

“I want to get as much money as I can back into the classroom,” Timmons said. “We need to cut more into the administration’s budget. The district is top-heavy.”

Also focusing on getting money back into the classroom is candidate Maurer, who taught home economics for 16 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her mother and husband also were educators.

“It’s in my blood,” said Maurer, 58. “I know education. I know the shortfalls. I would like to improve the quality of education in our colleges.”

Maurer ran unsuccessfully for Simi Valley City Council last year. She is a volunteer at several local organizations, including the Ventura County Commission for Women.

Candidate Fautz, 42, says he is running on a “pro-God” platform and is rallying support from conservative Christian churches in the Simi Valley area.

“We need to teach traditional family values,” Fautz said.

Fautz said he does not believe in advocating “safe sex” and would launch an investigation into the operations of the student health centers.

“Safe sex is a fundamental error,” Fautz said. “I know it’s all the rage these days, but I’m an advocate of abstinence.”

Fautz said he would also like to censor some classes that deal with topics ranging from witchcraft to the theory of evolution.

“We need someone on the board of trustees who is willing to stand up and get us back to where we belong,” Fautz recently told several pastors gathered for breakfast at a Simi Valley coffee shop.

Also running for the Area 4 seat is Jacobs, a retired associated superintendent. Jacobs, 61, who is traveling around the United States in a mobile home, is expected back this week. He could not be reached for comment.

But one of his campaign workers, Hal Lipman, also a retired associate superintendent, said Jacobs joined the race so that he could stay involved in education.

“He has a lot of skills and leadership,” Lipman said. “There is a lot of integrity in this man.”

On his candidate statement that will appear on the November ballot, Jacobs wrote: “Policies and procedures need to be established to set the tone for the district, resolve conflict, and avoid inappropriate decision making.”

Community College District Candidates

Area 3: Ojai, Camarillo, Santa Paula, part of East Ventura and adjacent unincorporated areas--one vacancy

Timothy D. Hirschberg, Incumbent

Occupation: Civil litigation attorney.

Objective: “I want to improve the colleges and strengthen the academic standards. For me and countless thousands . . . the community colleges were there for them. I want to make sure that the door is always open in Ventura County.”

Tom Jolicoeur

Occupation: Life insurance underwriter.

Objective: “I want to see the college district run as efficiently as possible, and I think there is room for improvement there. I don’t think our tax dollars are going as far as they should be.”

Vernon C. Markley

Occupation: Deputy sheriff, Ventura County Superior Court bailiff.

Objective: “I’d like to reinstate integrity to the college district. I want to make sure we are doing things ethically . . . The board has been asleep at the switch.”

Michael Musca

Occupation: Senior financial analyst for Ventura County.

Objective: “I want to use my financial background to do a better job. We need to police-dog the budget. I’d also like to cut the administrative costs--they’re quite high.”

Al Pacheco

Occupation: Administrator for an aerospace company.

Objective: “The politicians who are in office have a tax-and-spend attitude. We need to break that. We need new blood on board.”

Area 4: Simi Valley, Moorpark, Fillmore and adjacent unincorporated areas. One vacancy--the seat vacated by convicted embezzler James T. (Tom) Ely.

Theodore Fautz

Occupation: Electrical engineer and businessman

Objective: “Our community colleges are teaching valueless lessons. Health courses are not stressing abstinence as a means of preventing AIDS. We need to strengthen the family unit through the community colleges.”

Allan W. Jacobs

Occupation: Retired associate superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Objective: “Policies and procedures need to be established to set the tone for the district, resolve conflict and avoid inappropriate decision making.”

Marilyn E. Maurer

Occupation: Retired high school home-economics teacher

Objective: “I know education. I know the shortfalls. I would like to improve the quality of education in our colleges.”

Terry Timmons

Occupation: Part-time photography instructor at Ventura College

Objective: “I want to get as much money as I can back into the classroom . . . We need to cut more into the administration’s budget. The district is top heavy.”