Survey on Abortion Ignored by Candidates : Religion: A church group’s query on moral values was mailed to all 76 contenders in county elections. Only 29 responded.

A Ventura church group’s questionnaire on Ventura County candidates’ views on abortion has gone largely ignored by school board and City Council candidates, who say their beliefs on the matter are irrelevant to the duties of office.

The Ministry of South Coast Christian Fellowship mailed a questionnaire Sept. 30 to all 76 candidates in the races for Ventura City Council, the county Board of Education and county Community College District and a variety of school boards.

The questionnaire, titled “Family Issues Today,” sought candidates’ views on abortion, public funding for private art shows, adult bookstore zoning and gay-rights ordinances.

But only 29 of the candidates answered it, church spokeswoman Keala Namahoe said.

“The objective of Family Issues Today was to query our candidates on traditional moral values issues, the results of which would be published in our newsletter and distributed to the members of our church,” Namahoe said Monday.

“I am very disappointed by the lack of response by more than three-fourths of the candidates that are running for the City Council positions,” said Namahoe, who publishes the newsletter.

Namahoe said she has received only three of the questionnaires mailed to 18 council candidates.

The questionnaire asked, “Do you support or oppose an uncompromising right-to-life agenda for the unborn?”

It also asked questions such as, “Do you support or oppose restrictive zoning for ‘adult’ businesses?” “Do you support or oppose a ‘human rights ordinance’ which includes references to ‘sexual orientation?’ ” and “Do you support or oppose a public-funded AIDS program that emphasizes ‘safe sex?’ ”

The candidates’ answers will be published in the fellowship’s newsletter and distributed Wednesday night to more than 500 members of the evangelical Christian church, Namahoe said.

“I don’t think those questions are relevant to the operation of the city,” said Ventura Deputy Mayor Donald Villeneuve, who is running for reelection. He said of the issues in the questionnaire, “They have already been through the courts and have been tested.”

Candidate Alan Berk agreed, saying the questionnaire “did not deserve a reply.”

“I don’t believe abortion is one of the issues we’re having to deal with,” Berk said. “These issues of personal privacy, I believe . . . are for the women to decide.”

Jamie Stewart-Bentley, the sole woman running for Ventura City Council, said the abortion question was inappropriate.

“This is a matter of private conscience, and it’s between me and the guy upstairs,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something that’s appropriate for this campaign.”

“I don’t consider those questions (to be) issues that face the local school board,” said Diane Harriman, candidate for the Ventura Unified School District.

“Theirs was very well-written and very well-phrased,” Harriman said of the questionnaire, one of several she received from churches. “But many of the other issues belong with the Supreme Court and there’s nothing the local school boards can do.”

However, some candidates chose to answer.

Ventura school board candidate Roger E. Davis Jr. said he is a member of the church, and answered the questionnaire because he has heard of school officials in other districts taking pregnant students to Planned Parenthood.

“I filled it out, I had no problem with it,” Davis said. “I don’t know about the City Council, but I feel the questions were applicable to the school board because those things have happened in other districts.”

Council candidate Robert van der Valk said he did not mind answering the questions, although his family minister said the church cannot endorse candidates. “I guess they’re saying, ‘Well, if that’s your personal view, at least we know where you stand,’ ” he said.

And candidate Jack Tingstrom said he mailed in his questionnaire because “It’s not hard for me to answer those questions. Those views are known to anybody who knows me. I have pretty traditional family values, I’m a moralist.”

“I think they have a right to ask anything they want to ask,” said Marilyn E. Maurer, candidate for the Area 4 seat on the Community College District Board of Trustees. “If they’re looking for a candidate that upholds family values, I support those and it doesn’t bother me to say I do.”

Namahoe said the issues are important to members of the fellowship.

“They reflect the tone of the traditional moral values which we consider to be paramount in the quality of life that we want to see promoted in our communities,” she said.