ELECTIONS / VENTURA CITY COUNCIL : 3 Officeholders Will Face 11 Challengers

Environmental activist Steve Bennett and a children’s advocate have joined the ranks of a dozen other candidates vying for four Ventura City Council seats that are up for grabs in November.

The 11 challengers will take on incumbent Councilmen James Monahan, Todd Collart and Gary Tuttle, who have declared their intentions to run for reelection to the seven-member council.

Councilwoman Cathy Bean has decided against seeking another four-year term. The deadline for filing nomination papers was last week, but Bean’s decision not to run extended the deadline for filing election papers to Wednesday afternoon.

Bennett, a Nordhoff High School teacher who ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign in 1991, is the only challenger to emerge from the city’s circle of environmental activists. He waited until Wednesday to file his nomination papers.

Bennett was also a leader in the successful campaign last November to persuade city voters to favor building a desalination plant over constructing a pipeline to import water from Northern California. Residents voted 55% to 45% in favor of desalination on the advisory measure.

Another candidate who joined the fray this week is Virginia Weber, daughter-in-law of Jack Weber at Weber Motor Car Co. She served on the Ventura County grand jury last year, and works as an educational grant administrator for the Ventura County Infant Project.

Most of the candidates come from the business community. They favor cutting city business regulations and cite the need for luring more industries to Ventura.

The other challengers are: Nancy Cloutier; publisher and editor of the Ventura County & Coast Reporter; Neil Demers-Grey, a writer and gay rights activist; Charles Kistner, a political consultant; Dick Massa, who owns a medical supply company; Rosa Lee Measures, a former banker; Brian Lee Rencher, a Ventura College student; Clark Owens, a real estate broker; Kenneth Schmitz, a certified public accountant, and Carol Dean Williams, a local activist.

At stake are some key issues and projects that will decide the path of the city for years to come. The council in the next year is expected to decide whether to reconsider building the desalination plant, allow the Buenaventura Mall to double its size, and continue directing money into the city’s downtown revitalization district.

Local political activists expect the area’s troubled economy and jobs will dominate campaign issues this year. Candidates said other themes will include the desalination plant, the Buenaventura Mall, gang problems and the greenbelt between Ventura and Oxnard.

Candidates have been raising money, making speeches and walking precincts since January. Political groups are stepping up their activities too, and raising money to endorse their candidates. Now that the filing deadline has closed, campaigning is expected to intensify in the remaining three months. Next week, most of the candidates are expected to attend a public forum sponsored by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce.

Council members are elected at large, and the top four vote-getters will take office in early December. At that time, the council will also install a new mayor, selected from within the council.

The new council members will join Mayor Gregory L. Carson and Councilmen Tom Buford and Jack Tingstrom, who were all elected on a pro-business slate two years ago.

FYI

To be eligible to vote in November, residents must be registered with the county elections office by Oct. 4. Voter registration forms are available at the Ventura County Government Center, most post offices, city halls and libraries. Completed registration forms should be sent to Elections Division, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura 93009. For information about voter registration, call 654-2664.