Buford Wins Mayor’s Job; New Members Join Council : Ventura: The former Chamber of Commerce leader is handed the gavel after months of behind-the-scenes wrangling. Measures lobbied hard on her own behalf until the vote.

Labor attorney Tom Buford became Ventura’s 46th mayor Monday night as his colleagues said goodby to two City Council members and welcomed their replacements.

“It’s an exciting two years ahead of us,” Buford said after being presented with the gavel. “I appreciate the confidence the council has placed in me. We have lots of work ahead of us.”

Buford, a former president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, was elected to the seven-member council on a pro-business slate two years ago. The 45-year-old lawyer succeeds Gregory L. Carson as mayor, a two-year rotating position.

Councilman Gary Tuttle was chosen as deputy mayor during the ceremony, which included swearing in newcomers Rosa Lee Measures and Steve Bennett to take the seats held by Councilwoman Cathy Bean, who is retiring, and Todd Collart, whose reelection bid failed in November.

Buford was selected as mayor by a 5-2 vote, with Measures and Councilman Jack Tingstrom supporting Measures for the post. The selection for mayor followed months of behind-the-scenes wrangling for the city’s top job. Measures, in particular, lobbied hard for the job, pressing her colleagues for their support right up to Monday night’s vote.

Measures established a group of supporters to lobby other council members, and some residents wrote letters to local newspapers pushing her for the post.

Councilmen Tingstrom and Jim Monahan were also interested in becoming mayor, but they were unable to get the necessary votes from their council colleagues. Tuttle, Carson and Bennett promised their votes to Buford shortly after the election and did not waver in their support.

The mayor’s job is primarily ceremonial. But wielding the gavel, the Ventura mayor can direct debate during council meetings and influence policy with mayoral powers to appoint colleagues to key committees.

Buford said the biggest issues the council will grapple with during his two-year tenure include budget cutbacks, economic revitalization, housing, youth services, public safety and securing a long-term water source.

“We have some areas that deserve some attention,” Buford said in an interview.

The newcomers to the council have much to contribute, Buford said.

Measures and Bennett come from different political bases, but “both have shown they are very effective in organizing people and assessing community feelings,” Buford said.

Measures, who was the top vote-getter in November’s election and was backed by the business community, said her top priority is economic revitalization. The 56-year-old former banker manages her family’s trust fund.

Nordhoff High School teacher Bennett, a 42-year-old environmentalist who placed second in the election, said he also supports economic development. Bennett’s other goals include a pushing for a voter-approved desalination plant, establishing greenbelts and limiting campaign contributions.

Bennett and Tuttle will be the only environmentalists on the council. Collart and Bean were both elected on a slow-growth slate with Tuttle in 1989.

Collart said he enjoyed his four years on the council and hoped that the recent bruising campaign would not deter others from running. He blamed his defeat partly on the negative campaigns directed at him. “That sort of campaigning is a turnoff to good, average citizens running for office,” he said.

Bean, who also served one term, said she decided to retire from politics because of her age--66--and because she believes others should have the chance to hold public office.

“It doesn’t hurt to have new faces, new blood,” Bean said. “I think people should come and serve their community and then go home and let someone else serve.”