ELECTIONS / BOARD OF SUPERVISORS : Thousand Oaks’ Schillo Enters Race

Veteran Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo on Thursday announced his bid for an open seat on the Board of Supervisors, launching his campaign with pledges to transform county government.

Surrounded by half a dozen friends noted for their fund-raising skills, Schillo said he was prepared to spend roughly $15,000 to win election in the Second Supervisorial District, which stretches from the Conejo Valley to Port Hueneme.

He will be running for the seat to be vacated in January, 1995, by retiring Supervisor Maria VanderKolk.

So far, only one other candidate--taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings--has officially announced plans to compete in the June election. But at least four other people are mulling bids, including Schillo’s longtime rival, former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer.

In announcing his candidacy, Schillo stressed the need for more jobs, less crime and better social services. But he also presented specific proposals to change the way the Board of Supervisors goes about governing Ventura County.

Rather than tailoring programs to meet a pre-established budget, he said, the supervisors should first lay out their priorities and then start crunching numbers to determine what’s feasible.

“It’s all backward now,” Schillo said. “If we knew what the supervisors’ goals were, we could hold them accountable.”

As part of his push for more accountability, Schillo also called for the supervisors’ weekly meetings to be televised--and rebroadcast at night so citizens could tune in after work.

And he recommended that the board adopt a two-year budget cycle, instead of spending months arguing about fiscal matters every year. Thousand Oaks has switched to a two-year system, which many officials have found effective.

Like his budget idea, many of Schillo’s proposals about reforming county government stem from his experiences over nearly 10 years on the Thousand Oaks City Council. During that decade, he has often been at odds with the Board of Supervisors he now hopes to join.

As a councilman, Schillo has repeatedly criticized the supervisors for neglecting Thousand Oaks and for asking the city’s affluent taxpayers to subsidize services in other parts of the county. He has pushed for city redevelopment projects over the supervisors’ strong objections, brushing aside claims that the Redevelopment Agency would divert much-needed funds from the county’s coffers.

Even in launching his campaign, Schillo could not resist a plug for Thousand Oaks. He called on the supervisors to spend at least $1 million of the money it receives from a half-cent sales tax in Thousand Oaks, preferably by boosting the city’s police services.

But despite his reputation as an unflinching Thousand Oaks partisan, Schillo insisted that he could represent the entire district, from quirky Bell Canyon to feisty Oak Park to cash-strapped Port Hueneme. And he plans an intensive door-to-door campaign to tell voters just that.

“They’re all in the same boat as Thousand Oaks,” Schillo said. Calling the region a “donor district,” he said taxpayers in Thousand Oaks, Port Hueneme and the unincorporated pockets give more to the county than they get back in services.

“That is not right,” Schillo said. “I realize that if elected, I would be representing the entire county, but I’m going to focus on the second district. There is so much to be done for this district--we’re starting at ground zero.”

VanderKolk declined to comment on Schillo’s campaign, saying she hopes to “rise above” the fray. Several potential rivals also said they did not want to discuss Schillo’s candidacy.

“I really don’t have any comment,” Schaefer said. “I’m just really busy.” Hinting that she will decide soon whether to enter the race, she said, “I am really pleased with all of the support that is out there.”

Another potential candidate, Ron Stark of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council who has been mulling a run for VanderKolk’s seat, said he might consider instead throwing his support to Schillo. In a bid for Oak Park votes, Schillo promised to push for direct bus service between his city and Oak Park if elected. He also vowed to craft a plan for regional library service in the Conejo Valley.

“Frank would be a hard person to beat because he’s got the name recognition in Thousand Oaks and that’s where all the votes are,” Stark said.

Schillo also has gained some publicity outside Thousand Oaks as chairman of the Ventura County Transportation Commission and the Ventura Council of Governments.

If elected in June--or in a November runoff--Schillo would take office in January. Schillo’s term on the council is not up until 1996, so he will retain his council seat if unsuccessful in his supervisorial bid. If Schillo is elected, however, Thousand Oaks would probably hold a special election to fill his council seat.