VENTURA : Teacher to Run for City Council Seat

Steve Bennett, a Nordhoff High School teacher who ran a strong write-in campaign two years ago, announced Monday that he will seek a seat on the Ventura City Council.

Bennett, who came in fifth with 5,315 write-in votes in the last city election, said he “has a vision for the city of Ventura that I’d like to offer to voters.”

He said he wants to establish a long-term greenbelt with the city of Oxnard and concentrate on redevelopment in the downtown area.

Bennett, 42, who calls himself a “pragmatic environmentalist,” was a leader of a successful campaign last November to build a desalination plant instead of importing water. The advisory measure won a 55% approval from Ventura residents.

The filing deadline for candidates is Friday. If any of the four incumbent council members do not take out candidacy papers by then, the deadline will be extended to Aug. 11.

Other candidates who have filed for candidacy include: Nancy Cloutier, publisher of the Ventura County & Coast Reporter; Neil Demers-Grey, a gay rights activist; Dick Massa, who owns a medical supply company; Clark Owens, a real estate broker, and Carol Dean Williams, a local activist.

Council members are elected at large every two years for four-year terms.