ELECTIONS / BOARD OF SUPERVISORS : Madge Schaefer Says She’ll Run for Her Old Seat

Former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, who advised after her narrow 1990 defeat to Maria VanderKolk to “never say goodby to Madge,” announced Wednesday that she is a candidate for her old job.

Pledging to make crime-fighting her top priority if elected, Schaefer, 51, launched her campaign at a press conference in front of the East County Sheriff’s Station.

“We’re locking ourselves in, and criminals are having the run of the streets,” Schaefer said. “This is the No. 1 issue that people are concerned about. We’ve got to take back our streets.”

Schaefer is the fourth person to enter the race for the 2nd District supervisor’s seat now held by VanderKolk, who is not seeking reelection. Thousand Oaks City Councilman Frank Schillo and taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings will also compete for the seat, representing most of the Conejo Valley and Port Hueneme.

And attorney Trudi K. Loh, 37, said Wednesday that she plans to formally announce her candidacy later this month. The Thousand Oaks resident said her campaign will focus on creating new jobs and reducing crime in the east county.

“I’m going to be going door-to-door to find out what the voters want in their next supervisor,” said Loh, who will be making her first run for public office. “I’m an attorney, and I’m basically looking at this as a job interview with the voters.”

At least three other potential candidates have pulled nomination papers and are considering entering the race. They are former Assembly candidate Alan Guggenheim, county corrections officer David Goodman and Oak Park resident Alan H. Knapp.

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During her press conference Wednesday, Schaefer said she decided to run after canvassing Thousand Oaks’ neighborhoods and talking with voters one-on-one about her potential candidacy.

“I started ringing doorbells and reintroducing myself to people, telling them I wanted to be a candidate,” said Schaefer, who ran unsuccessfully for the state Assembly in 1992. “I was really pleased with the response.”

Since January, Schaefer said she has collected signatures of nearly 2,000 registered voters to help get her name placed on the June 7 ballot. The county requires a total of 2,582 signatures or a filing fee of $645 to place a candidate’s name on the ballot.

Schaefer said that in her conversations with voters, she found that the issue most important to them was the increasing incidence of violent crime, particularly in the east county. “People are really frightened,” she said. “They are really scared about what’s happening in society with violence.”

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To combat crime, she pledged to expand the county’s anti-drug and gang prevention program, and to protect law enforcement services from further budget cuts.

Schaefer, a veteran of 20 years on government boards in Thousand Oaks and the county, lost her supervisor’s post in 1990 to VanderKolk by 102 votes in an upset described as the most stunning in a Ventura County campaign since the 1920s.

At the time, she was criticized for being too chummy with developers and waging her campaign as a sure thing. She used only about half of the $40,000 in her campaign treasury, and spent the week before the election in New York on county business.

“There was clearly the perception that because I went to New York that I didn’t care about the race,” Schaefer said Wednesday. “What did I learn? I learned that perception is the same as reality. And I accept full responsibility for that.”

Reaction to Schaefer’s announcement among her rivals and county officials was mixed.

“Whoever is in the race is (insignificant) as far as my campaign is concerned,” Schillo said.

Robings also downplayed the significance of Schaefer’s candidacy. “It’s no surprise,” he said. “She’s certainly welcome to get in the race. It’s certain to generate some different issues.”

Supervisor John K. Flynn, who often disagreed with Schaefer when she was on the board, was more critical in his assessment of her campaign.

“It seems to me that Madge has had an opportunity to sit on the board, and she really failed to pay attention to her district and she lost,” said Flynn, who represents the 5th District.

“It’s hard for me to figure why she wants to try it all over again,” Flynn said. “I think there are much better candidates out there to take the place of Maria VanderKolk.”

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VanderKolk herself declined to comment on Schaefer’s prospects for winning back her old seat.

“I’m really trying to stay out of the race,” she said. “I wish her well, as I do every candidate running for office.”

Schaefer’s daughters--Heather Schaefer, 22, and Holly Henebry, 27--who joined their mother at Wednesday’s press conference, said the family fully supports the former supervisor’s decision to jump in the race.

“She’s got so much to give,” Heather Schaefer said. “She’s been committed to this county since I can remember. She is really and truly out there for the people.”

“There are no hidden agendas,” Henebry agreed. “This is what she loves.”

Others who turned out to show their support for Schaefer at a second news conference in Port Hueneme on Wednesday afternoon were Port Hueneme City Councilman Dorill B. Wright and former mayor and councilman Ray D. Prueter.

During her press conference in front of the Ray Prueter Library, Schaefer said that if elected supervisor, she would look for ways to lease surplus properties owned by the county’s library district to generate additional income to expand library hours and services.