Thousand Oaks : Ex-Supervisor Seeking Seat on Grand Jury
Former Ventura County Supervisor Madge Schaefer has applied to serve on the 1993-94 grand jury, county sources said Monday.
Schaefer, who lost her reelection bid to Maria VanderKolk in 1990, is one of people seeking appointment to the panel.
The grand jury is a 19-member citizens panel, appointed by Ventura County Superior Court judges, that serves a dual role. In addition to indicting criminal suspects, the jury serves as a watchdog over local government. Members are paid $20 per day for their service.
Schaefer declined Monday to comment on her request to serve on the panel.
But according to a source, the former supervisor listed all the elected officials in the county as references.
Ironically, during a routine background check, district attorney investigators questioned VanderKolk and Thousand Oaks City Councilman Frank Schillo, a Schaefer nemesis, on the former supervisor. Both were asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing whether Schaefer should be included on the jury.
Schillo would not discuss how he responded to the questions and VanderKolk could not be reached for comment.
The Superior Court judges are expected to select 19 people from the pool of candidates to serve on the panel next year. Another 11 will be named as alternates. The selection is expected to be completed July 1.
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