COUNTYWIDE : Public Defender May Challenge Gallegly

Kenneth I. Clayman, Ventura County’s public defender, said Sunday that he is thinking about challenging Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) for the county’s new congressional seat.

Clayman, 50, a Democrat, said he has given the race serious thought since Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) and environmental activist Kevin Sweeney withdrew from the race last week.

“My mind has been racing over the opportunity to serve in the United States Congress,” Clayman said. “I don’t want to be foolish and get into a sure loser. But I don’t want to be chicken either. A lot can happen between now and November.”

If Clayman decides to run, he would first face Anita Perez Ferguson, a Santa Barbara educational consultant, in the June 2 Democratic primary. Ferguson moved to Ventura last month to run in the new 23rd Congressional district that includes Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except Thousand Oaks.

Ferguson could not be reached for comment Sunday. She was the Democratic congressional nominee in 1990 in a district that at the time covered the western portion of Ventura County and all of Santa Barbara County. She is the only Democrat to announce officially that she is in the race.

Clayman said Ferguson may be vulnerable to Gallegly’s attack that she is an outsider who just moved into the county. Clayman said he has received encouragement to enter the race from Democrats in the area.

“I’m very interested,” Clayman said. “I’m serious.”

Clayman, a Camarillo resident and single father of two teen-age sons, has been the county’s public defender since 1984. The public defender is appointed by the County Board of Supervisors to oversee an office with a $4.5-million budget and staff of 59 that handles criminal defendants too poor to afford private attorneys.

“I have been in government for most of my life. I run a major office in the county and have experience with budgets and major problems facing our community,” Clayman said.

Gallegly declined to comment specifically about Clayman’s potential candidacy, saying he knows him only by reputation. “I’m focusing on establishing my own campaign organization so I can prepare for whomever,” Gallegly said.

Jim Dantona, a government affairs consultant and Democratic strategist in Simi Valley, was enthusiastic about Clayman. “He is an articulate, hard-working guy. He has been in the county for quite a while, and he understands county politics. I think he would be a formidable candidate.”