Elected Leaders in 4 Cities Take Oaths of Office

Camarillo City Council members picked a pro-growth advocate for mayor and Oxnard seated its first elected Latino mayor and first black councilman as officials took the oath of office in four cities across Ventura County on Tuesday.

The inductions came three weeks after the Nov. 3 election, in which voters ushered in a historic shift of power at Oxnard City Hall and made far less sweeping changes in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Fillmore.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors certified election returns Tuesday, thus making them official.

Camarillo

In a 20-minute ceremony at which two incumbent councilmen were sworn in, the Camarillo council chose Charlotte Craven, 48, as the city’s new mayor. Craven, a homemaker who is in her second council term, said she would use her new position to focus on the need for economic development.

“The priority is to continue to work with the business and industrial community to get more jobs in Camarillo,” said Craven, who also served as mayor in her first term in 1990 and is one of three women to serve as Camarillo’s mayor since the city’s incorporation in 1964.

She replaces Stanley J. Daily, who has served as mayor for three terms and taken more moderate positions on growth than Craven.

Ken Gose, 71, a retired high school teacher and Navy aviation officer, was elected vice mayor. He is halfway through his first four-year term as councilman.

Before Craven’s election, City Clerk Marilyn Thiel swore in incumbent Councilmen Mike Morgan and David M. Smith, who retained their seats Nov. 3. Morgan, 45, a probation officer, is beginning his fourth term on the council; Smith, a 47-year-old financial planner, is beginning his second.

With an 81.1% turnout of the electorate, the two easily defeated two challengers in November’s election.

Oxnard

In Ventura County’s largest city, the Oxnard City Council suspended its regular Tuesday meeting to install its first elected Latino mayor, its first black councilman and only the fourth Latino councilman in the city’s 90-year history.

More than 200 friends and supporters attended the ceremony at the Oxnard Public Library.

Newly elected Councilmen Bedford Pinkard, 61, and Andres Herrera, 46, unseated incumbents Dorothy Maron and Geraldine Furr in the Nov. 3 election. And in the mayoral contest, Manuel Lopez defeated council colleague Michael Plisky by 137 votes.

The new council selected Plisky as mayor pro tem Tuesday night.

“I truly appreciate the opportunity that you have given me,” said the 65-year-old Lopez. “We now have to work very well together to ensure that we are responsive to the entire community.”

The council is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. today to decide whether to fill Lopez’s now-vacant council seat by appointment or special election.

The installation ceremony also included the swearing-in of Treasurer Dale V. Belcher, 53, who won reelection over one challenger, and City Clerk Daniel Martinez, 34, who ousted 12-year incumbent Mabi Covarrubias Plisky.

As his first official act, Lopez administered the oath of office to Martinez, who then swore in Pinkard and Herrera. The new councilmen were swept into office largely on the emerging political strength of Latinos and blacks, who make up nearly 60% of the city’s 146,000 population and who turned out to vote like never before in key precincts.

But at the swearing-in ceremony, they stressed the need to put aside racial barriers and work together to solve financial and other problems facing the city.

“We have talked about issues that transcend the color of our skin,” Herrera told the gathering. “We talked about the need to bring a new vision and a new vitality to the city of Oxnard.”

Added Pinkard: “If you want to make change, you have to be in the position to make change. I’m concerned about the safety and the welfare of the city of Oxnard, but I am dedicated to making Oxnard a better place to work, live, go to school and play.”

Simi Valley

In a brief ceremony at Simi Valley City Hall, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Joe Haddon administered the oath of office to two incumbents, Mayor Greg Stratton and Councilman Bill Davis, and to newly elected Councilwoman Barbara Williamson.

Stratton, 46, a software engineer, easily fended off challenges from three other candidates to win his fourth two-year term as mayor. Before winning the top job, he served on the council between 1979 and 1986.

He said Tuesday he was pleased to have been returned to office by such a large margin.

“The people in this city are very happy with the community they have and they want to keep it” as it is, Stratton said.

Davis, 65, is a retired businessman who has served on the council for six years. He won a four-year term Nov. 3 as the top vote-getter in a field of 13 candidates vying for two seats on the council.

Williamson, 47, a bank vice president and city planning commissioner, won the second seat. Although some residents criticized Williamson during the campaign for her votes in favor of development projects, her presence on the council is not expected to result in a dramatic shift in city policies.

The new councilwoman replaced Michael W. Piper, who was appointed to a council vacancy last December but chose not to run for the seat.

“Barbara is stepping into a very good group,” Piper said.

Fillmore

In another low-key ceremony, three Fillmore city councilmen who easily defended their seats in the November election were quickly sworn in before the council returned to city business.

Voters returned incumbents Scott Lee, Roger Campbell and Michael McMahan to office. Campbell is serving his third term, while Lee and McMahan won their second terms.

Also sworn in Tuesday was new Treasurer Betty A. Carpenter, who ran unopposed, and incumbent City Clerk Noreen Withers.

Times staff writer Phil Sneiderman and correspondent Michelle Quinn contributed to this story.