Vicky Howard Says She Won’t Seek Reelection : Politics: The one-term supervisor’s surprise move sets off a scramble among possible successors for her east county seat.

Ventura County Supervisor Vicky Howard announced Tuesday that she will not seek a second term in June, a surprise move that caught the county’s political establishment off guard and set off a scramble among possible successors.

As her eyes welled up with tears, Howard, 60, said at a press conference that after much soul searching, she has decided to leave her job after only one term.

“It’s really a personal situation,” she said, speaking barely above a whisper. “I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m not the youngest person around. You kind of sometimes realize . . . that you need to take time to smell the roses.”

Although Howard declined to elaborate on why she opted against a reelection bid, sources close to the supervisor said she wants to spend more time with her 70-year-old husband, Jim, who has reportedly been in ill health. The couple live in Simi Valley.

Howard’s decision came just three months after Supervisor Maria E. VanderKolk formally announced that she would not seek reelection this spring, a decision she alluded to for a year.

While county officials said they had anticipated VanderKolk’s decision, they were shocked by Howard’s announcement.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said. “Things change so abruptly in politics. One minute she is running, the next she’s not.”

Supervisor Maggie Kildee said: “I had absolutely no knowledge that she was going to make this decision. We will certainly miss her on the board.

“She has been a very good and steadying influence. She has really represented the eastern part of the county very well but never lost sight of the fact that she was responsible for all of the county.”

Howard, who represents the Simi Valley and Moorpark areas in the county’s 4th Supervisorial District, said she reached her decision after several months of consideration.

“During the holidays, it became clear to me I had very little time to spend with my family,” Howard said in an interview after the press conference. “It brought it home that you need to have some personal time. You need to look at some other things.

“It’s a tough decision to make. It is not one I came to easily or lightly, and not without some regret. I really enjoyed working for people.”

The supervisor’s decision not to run again leaves the seat open to a host of contenders.

Howard, who searched for two weeks for a candidate to replace her, Tuesday threw her support behind Simi Valley City Councilwoman Judy Mikels, 48.

Immediately after Howard announced her decision at the East County Courthouse, Mikels made public her plans to seek the open seat in a brief press conference outside the building.

Speaking without the aid of a script, Mikels praised Howard, who stood next to her throughout the conference, and pledged to continue the supervisor’s work if elected to replace her.

“It was a very sad surprise for me when Vicky told me she was not running,” Mikels said. “It was a hard decision to reach, but I’m now committed and I will go after this seat as vigorously as I can.”

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Mikels, a 12-year Simi Valley resident who has served on the City Council since 1990, would have been up for reelection to the council in November.

At the end of the conference, Howard spoke briefly in support of Mikels.

“We’ve gone out campaigning together in past elections and worked side by side on many issues,” Howard said. “We don’t always agree on every issue, but the important thing is the overall service and dedication to the county.”

Just two hours before Howard’s announcement, Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery, 40, officially declared his candidacy for the supervisor’s job.

“I believe my base here in Moorpark is very secure,” said Montgomery, who had heard beforehand that Howard was not running. “The issues in Simi Valley are not dissimilar from the ones that we, in many cases, solved here in Moorpark. This is a time when the torch of responsibility can and should pass from Simi Valley to Moorpark officials.”

Another Moorpark official mulling a supervisorial bid is Mayor Paul Lawrason.

Lawrason, a staunch Howard supporter, said the supervisor’s decision not to run prompted him to consider entering the race.

“I am entertaining the idea,” he said Tuesday. “I have an interest in that position. I think it’s a key place to make a difference as far as our quality of life is concerned here in the county, and I would find that an honor to be able to spend some time there.”

Several weeks ago, Simi Valley City Councilwoman Barbara Williamson--one of Howard’s critics--said she would seek election to the position.

Williamson, 48, a vice president at Simi Valley Bank, was elected to the City Council a little more than year ago from a pool of 13 candidates.

Commenting on Howard’s support of Mikels, Williamson said: “I think it’s an insult to the intelligence of the community that Vicky Howard thinks she can hand-pick her own successor.”

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton, meanwhile, said he declined Howard’s request last week to run for the seat because he had already committed to a bid for the county auditor-controller position. Sources close to Howard also said she asked retiring Simi Police Chief Lindsey Paul Miller to run. Miller declined to comment on the matter when contacted Tuesday.

VanderKolk’s slot representing the area stretching from the Conejo Valley to Port Hueneme is also expected to be hotly contested. As of Tuesday, 11 possible contenders had taken out papers to run for the seat.

Flynn said the two elections could completely change the makeup of the now-conservative Board of Supervisors.

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“I think the board is going to change dramatically,” said Flynn, who has often criticized his colleagues. “I think we need an infusion of some good thinking and some good ideas.”

Nevertheless, Flynn said he thought that Howard had served well.

“I have quite a bit of respect for Vicky,” Flynn said. “She is an exceptionally kind and sensitive person.”

VanderKolk added: “Vicky worked so hard. She just had all the best intentions in the world.

“She loved her job but it was interfering and she had to make a choice. I admire her for the choice she made.”

Howard was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1990 after defeating her next-door neighbor, Bill Davis, a Simi Valley councilman, in a heated battle.

Prior to joining the board, Howard served for eight years on the Simi Valley City Council. Before that, she was a member of the city’s Planning Commission.

Howard moved to Simi Valley in 1965 from Canoga Park after her husband took a job as an engineer with Rockwell International Corp. Howard, the mother of three, went to work as a real estate agent and volunteered to serve on her Neighborhood Council.

During the 30-minute press conference Tuesday, Howard expressed regret at leaving office and gave a detailed summary of her work on the board, including her service on the budget, transportation and waste commissions, and listed the objectives she hopes to achieve in her final 10 months in office.

“It is extremely painful for me to disappoint the fine people who have supported me,” Howard said. “But I cannot commit myself to be so intensely involved for the next four years.”

Times staff writer Mack Reed and correspondent James Maiella Jr. contributed to this story.