15 Incumbents Keep Seats in 9 Cities’ Races

In Thousand Oaks, a former teacher was elected to the Thousand Oaks City Council, bouncing the mayor from his city post.

In Simi Valley, by contrast, the mayor--whose record was attacked repeatedly during the campaign--trounced three challengers.

And in Moorpark, Councilman Bernardo Perez hung onto his office by a mere 37 votes, while election officials continued to count 500 absentee ballots.

Across Ventura County, voters in nine cities tossed five incumbents from office, reelected 15 others and selected seven newcomers to help guide and perhaps change their cities’ policies over the next few years.

In Thousand Oaks, for example, former teacher Jaime Zukowski, the top vote-getter, may find herself allied with slow-growth Councilwoman Elois Zeanah. Zeanah endorsed Zukowski in the campaign.

In Simi Valley, the election of banker Barbara Williamson could tilt the council balance toward more business growth. As a planning commissioner, Williamson approved several projects that were later opposed by Councilman Michael Piper, the man she is replacing.

In Port Hueneme, voters elected Toni Young, a real estate agent who opposes a recreational vehicle park plan favored by the remaining four council members.

Young said Wednesday that she will urge the council to stop spending money to move the project forward, over the environmental objections raised by state and federal agencies.

Following is a city-by-city rundown on Tuesday’s city election results.

Thousand Oaks

Voters sent a mixed message in Thousand Oaks, handing Councilman Frank Schillo his third term but rejecting Mayor Robert E. Lewis in favor of a newcomer.

The surprise winner was Zukowski, a former teacher with the Conejo Valley Unified School District, who was the top vote-getter with 15,498 votes.

Zukowski eclipsed both incumbents and challenger Ken Bauer, an Atlantic Richfield Co. executive who led an unsuccessful recall drive against Schillo and Councilman Alex Fiore.

“A great majority of residents see change is necessary,” Zukowski said.

When Zukowski is sworn in Dec. 8, it will be the first time in Thousand Oaks’ 28-year history that the council will seat a majority of women. She will join Zeanah and Councilwomen Judy Lazar.

Schillo, an eight-year council veteran who was targeted in an unsuccessful recall campaign earlier this year, said that petition drive may have helped him to win reelection.

“There’s some backlash from the recall,” he said. “People who didn’t vote for the recall wanted to make sure I stayed in office.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the upset of Lewis, a one-term councilman who had campaigned on his record of supporting controlled growth and open-space protection.

“I’m not sure why I came in fourth,” he said Wednesday. “I was very proud of my time in the city, and I had wanted to see the civic arts plaza to completion.”

Zukowski’s supporters credited some of her success to an aggressive cable television commercial campaign during the last three weeks of the campaign. She spent less than $10,000--far less than Lewis, Schillo and Bauer--but tailored her campaign literature to specific neighborhoods.

Zeanah said the results could make a difference on the council. She has often been on the losing end of 4-1 votes.

Zukowski, however, promised to be an independent voice. “I’m very much an individual and she is too,” Zukowski said.

She said she plans to press for the creation of neighborhood councils, similar to those in Simi Valley, and a citizens appeal ordinance that would make it less expensive for residents to challenge development plans.

Simi Valley

Greg Stratton, a council member since 1979 and mayor since 1986, captured more than 62% of the vote in a race against political consultant Steve Frank, attorney Robert Plunkett and school board member Kenneth Ashton.

Frank mounted the most aggressive campaign, criticizing the mayor’s voting record and alleging that he no longer provided reliable leadership. But local voters put Frank in distant second place with 16% of the vote.

Jim Dantona, a Simi Valley-based political consultant, said Frank raised some valid issues but alienated many voters at the same time.

“Steve’s style is abrasive,” Dantona said. “People couldn’t quite get through the personality to see what the issues really were.”

On Wednesday, Frank publicly congratulated the mayor but vowed to remain active in local politics. “Now all of us need to work together with the council to correct the problems facing our city,” he said.

But Stratton said, “I think my vote is pretty much a confirmation that the city leadership wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

In a separate race in which 13 candidates competed for two City Council seats, incumbent Bill Davis finished first, followed by Williamson.

Stratton said Williamson won partly by casting herself as a City Hall insider. “She kind of joined the bandwagon, while the others were fighting the bandwagon,” the mayor said.

Yet he expressed concerns about Williamson’s pro-development record as a planning commissioner.

Over the past year, she approved a McDonald’s restaurant and Shell gas station in northeast Simi Valley, despite vigorous objections from nearby residents. Piper, the man she is replacing, joined the mayor in voting against these projects.

“I am probably one of the ‘less-growth’ people on the council,” Stratton said. “Piper certainly shared most of my concerns. Barbara shares some of them, but not all of them. We’ll just have to see.”

But Williamson insisted that she will not join the council with a pro-growth agenda. “I’m going to take each case individually as it comes before the council.”

Port Hueneme

Port Hueneme voters returned popular incumbent Orvene Carpenter to a seventh term but also signaled a desire for change by giving Young, a political newcomer and recent council critic, the second open seat.

Young polled only 83 votes less than Carpenter despite competition from longtime civic leaders such as Alvah E. Ingersoll Jr., who placed fourth out of eight candidates, and Gary L. Songer, who placed sixth.

She has been critical of the council in recent months for supporting the proposed recreational vehicle park at the south end of Hueneme Beach. She contends that the park would harm the oceanfront area.

But support for the project, which city officials say will add $400,000 a year to city revenues, is likely to remain strong among the four other council members.

Young said she will encourage the council to look at other sites and consider other sources of revenue but will not make the RV park issue a priority. “I’m only one person and only one vote,” she said.

Young will become the first woman to serve on the council since the late 1950s.

Moorpark

Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason was easily returned to office Tuesday, but in a separate race, voters reelected only two of the three incumbent councilmen.

The surprise winner was Patrick Hunter, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy and political novice who won a four-year council term by finishing second to Councilman Scott Montgomery.

Hunter cited the city’s failure to attract new businesses and to bolster the success of existing ones in his campaign. He also characterized the current council as a close-knit group unresponsive to its constituents.

Hunter said he spent about $1,250 on the campaign--primarily his own money--and walked precincts every day.

One of his first goals, he said, “is to form a committee or a workshop with people that currently own businesses in Moorpark. I want some dialogue on some of the ways that we can retain businesses.”

Montgomery, who also won a four-year seat, said of Hunter’s strong finish, “for a total unknown to carry this kind of a vote means that his message struck a chord in the community.”

Councilman Roy E. Talley--battling Perez for a two-year seat--said he will await the results of about 500 uncounted absentee ballots.

“I’m just going to sit back and see,” he said. “I was surprised that Mr. Hunter got all that momentum going for him. . . . Because he did, he put Bernardo and I in the situation we’re in right now.”

Perez said he will serve or leave with no regrets.

“It’s really a wait-and-see thing,” Perez said. “If I win, even if it’s third, I win. And if Roy wins, fine. He’s a good councilman.”

For candidate Eloise Brown, the election served as her third consecutive defeat since losing her council seat in 1990. She was beaten by Talley in a special election in March, 1991. Brown, 71, did not rule out another council bid.

Santa Paula

Santa Paula voters replaced a longtime councilman with a businesswoman who promised to help revitalize the town’s economy.

Challenger Robin Sullivan finished first with 30.8% of the votes in a race for two seats that pitted two veteran incumbents against three challengers.

Mayor Alfonso Urias retained his council seat by coming in second with 24.7% of the vote. He will serve a fifth term on the council.

Councilman Les Maland, whose 24 years on the council made him a political institution in the city, finished third.

Sullivan, an attorney and president of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, attributed her victory to an early start for her campaign and dissatisfaction over the economy.

“Voters were saying they were ready for a change,” said Sullivan, who was credited with reinvigorating the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce during her two terms as president.

She said her first goal on the council will be to help set goals for the city’s new redevelopment agency.

In her campaign, Sullivan reached beyond the business community for backing. She supported Measure P, the mobile home park rent control initiative, and brought an interpreter with her when she walked precincts in heavily Latino neighborhoods.

The day after losing his bid for a seventh term, Maland, a retired engineer, conceded that he had made his own reelection more difficult by promising four years ago not to run again.

He said he may have lacked the drive needed to stave off the strong campaign by Sullivan. “I sensed on my own that I didn’t have as much fire in the belly as I had in previous elections,” said Maland.

Camarillo

Two Camarillo councilmen who easily defeated two challengers Tuesday said it was a clear signal that their slow-growth policy has residents’ support.

David Smith, a one-term councilman, and Michael Morgan, who has served three terms, defeated William L. Brown and Manuel Eneriz.

The results came at a time when the city is trying to find a stable revenue source while preserving its remaining open space.

“There will be no major changes in the council’s direction,” Smith said. “Camarillo is clearly a limited-growth city, and almost anyone who remains on the council would have to support that.”

Smith said the council will continue to attract businesses to Camarillo, such as the proposed factory outlet mall, which is expected to open in the fall of 1993 if it wins city approval.

Fillmore

Three Fillmore councilmen who campaigned against a single challenger easily won reelection Tuesday.

Voters chose incumbents Scott Lee, Roger Campbell and Michael Mahan over their lone opponent, Charles (Tom) Robertson.

The election returned Campbell to the dais for his third term; Mahan and Lee, now serving as mayor, won their second terms.

Robertson received 20.4% of the vote, even though his campaign raised no criticisms of the current council. He said he ran because he knew he could do a good job and because he believed that it wasn’t right for the three incumbents to face no opposition.

Ojai

Two Ojai councilmen, James D. Loebl and Robert McKinney, fended off a single challenger to retain their seats.

Preschool manager Robert Laszlo entered the race after he decided that the council was spending city funds unwisely. He cited a $30,000 downtown traffic study as an example.

“I think the people were satisfied that this was not an issue of local importance,” said Loebl, who has served 24 years on the council.

He denied that the council has mishandled funds, saying the city’s reserves have more than doubled over the past four years.

Loebl said the council will now return its attention to two key issues: the possible expansion of the city’s boundaries and the fight against a county plan to place a dump in nearby Weldon Canyon.

Times staff writer Psyche Pascual and correspondents Maia Davis, James Maiella Jr., Patrick McCartney, Michelle Quinn and Kay Saillant contributed to this story.