OAK PARK : Candidates Forum Scheduled Oct. 13

Candidates for school board and the municipal advisory council in Oak Park will appear at an Oct. 13 public forum sponsored by the Community Foundation for Oak Park.

The unincorporated community is one of the few in the county where local elections will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot along with ballot questions on school vouchers and extending a half-cent sales tax.

The forum will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Brookside School, 165 N. Satinwood Ave. Candidates will be asked to make statements and then will answer written questions from the audience.

Stephen Kingsford, an assistant Ventura County superintendent of schools, will moderate the forum.

Three seats are open on both the school board and advisory council.

Three incumbents and one challenger are candidates for the municipal council, which advises the county supervisor representing the area. The incumbents are Kent Behringer, Ron Stark and Barbara Bronson Gray. The challenger is Paul Fredericks.

Two incumbents and five challengers are running for the school board. They are incumbents Bob Kahn and Wayne Blasman, and challengers Jeri Fox, Kevin Ketchum, Tami Lawler, Howard Levy and Wayne Sterling.

David Ross, foundation president, said forums are a tradition in Oak Park. He said he knows firsthand the importance of each vote in the small community. In 1975, Ross won a seat on the advisory council by 12 votes. Four years ago, Ross, then a school board member, lost by 17 votes.