ELECTIONS : Political Hopefuls Scramble to Meet the Deadline

The field of candidates running for local, state and federal offices representing Ventura County got a little more crowded Friday as political hopefuls scrambled to meet the deadline for filing nomination papers.

More than 40 candidates filed papers for 11 different offices, including everything from county clerk to two congressional seats, officials said.

Nine candidates filed papers to run for two open seats on the Board of Supervisors, virtually guaranteeing a November runoff in both races, said Bruce Bradley, the county’s chief elections official.

“You’re not looking at one election; you’re looking at two if you want to go all the way,” Bradley said.

It’s possible the number of supervisorial candidates could grow even more. Because Supervisors Maria VanderKolk and Vicky Howard are not seeking reelection, the deadline for candidates to file for the two seats has been extended until Wednesday.

At least three officeholders--Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, Sheriff Larry Carpenter and Tax Collector Hal Pittman--won’t have to worry about campaigning this year. All three are unchallenged.

“It’s nice not to have that distraction,” Bradbury said. “But I don’t take my job for granted. I love what I do.”

In other local races, two candidates have filed papers to run for tax assessor, while two others will run for county clerk. And five people will compete in what is shaping up to be a hotly contested race for county auditor-controller, whose job is to oversee the county’s $836-million budget.

The crowded field of candidates could also force a November runoff in the controller’s race, county officials said.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Colleen Toy White and defense attorney James Farley will go head to head for an open seat on the Superior Court bench. Judge Edwin M. Osborne has retired and his seat will remain vacant until after the November election.

The difficulty of raising money in a tough economy may have discouraged potential legislative and congressional candidates from competing in the June 7 primary, Bradley said, noting that several candidates are unchallenged.

“It’s going to be a fairly quiet primary,” he said. “There was a lot of talking early on (by potential candidates), but when it comes to putting your money down that’s another thing . . . I think people are finding out that it costs too much to run for office.”

In the 23rd Congressional District, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) is unchallenged in the Republican primary.

On the Democratic side, Frank Stephenson, a college placement consultant from Ojai, and Kevin E. Ready, a Ventura resident and attorney for Santa Barbara County, will compete for their party’s nomination.

Although Democrats cannot match Gallegly’s name recognition or financial backing, Ready said they still hold an advantage.

“With an 8,000-vote margin of Democrats over Republicans in the district, it is the large independent vote that can ensure a Democratic victory,” he said.

William Brown of Camarillo has filed papers to run as a Libertarian, and Robert Thomas Marton of Simi Valley will run as a Green Party candidate in the congressional race.

Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), whose 24th Congressional District includes Thousand Oaks and parts of western Los Angeles County, will face Scott Gauke, a resident of Sherman Oaks, in the Democratic primary in June.

Five candidates are competing for the Republican nomination. They are Mark Boos Benhard, an Agoura public relations consultant and one-time assistant to former Rep. William K. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton); Robert Kent Hammer, a Newbury Park banking consultant; Emery Shane, a commercial real estate investment broker from Oak Park; Richard Sybert of Woodland Hills, an attorney and former top aide to Gov. Pete Wilson, and Sang Korman, a Calabasas resident who has run unsuccessfully for Congress three times.

All the candidates agree that the economy will be the No. 1 issue, noting that the district has been among the hardest hit by the recession. Shane said he decided to enter the race this week at the urging of business leaders throughout the district.

“We’ve lost a lot of jobs” during the past few years, he said. “What I’ve been doing for the last decade is bringing jobs into the Conejo and San Fernando valleys. So I think I can help make contributions to businesses both small and large.”

Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) has no challengers for the Democratic nomination in the race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara). Hart’s district includes Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai and all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

The two candidates competing for the Republican nomination are Steve Decker, a Santa Barbara real estate investor, and Steve MacElvaine, a cattle rancher and former San Luis Obispo County supervisor.

Decker said the need for more jobs, less crime and improved education will be the primary issues in the campaign.

“I’m running because I have the ability to raise money and because I believe Steve MacElvaine is not running an aggressive campaign,” Decker said. “He continues to be an invisible candidate.”

MacElvaine said Decker didn’t know what he was talking about. He said he has been campaigning since announcing his candidacy last April, often using his Cessna 182 to hop-scotch around the tri-county district.

“This will all be decided in June,” he said.

Two other Republican legislators going unchallenged in their primaries are Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills), whose 38th District includes Fillmore and Simi Valley, and Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard), whose 37th District encompasses most of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Port Hueneme and Oxnard.

Josh Arce of Chatsworth, who may be the youngest legislative candidate in the state at age 18, and Simi Valley attorney David Allan Cocquyt will compete for the Democratic nomination in the 38th District. Both are political novices.

Cocquyt said he has worked for the past seven years on workers’ compensation cases, representing injured workers. He believes he can add “some meaningful ideas to true reform of the system.” He said he plans to spend less than $500 on his campaign.

“I know it’s an uphill battle,” he said. “But you never know. Anything can happen.”

Charles Wilken of Northridge is running as a Green Party candidate.

In the 37th District, Dorothy Maron, Takasugi’s old nemesis on the Oxnard City Council, will be his Democratic challenger in November. Maron said she decided to jump into the race because she believes she can do a better job of “working for the little guy.”

Santa Barbara winery owner Brooks Firestone is unchallenged in the Republican primary for the 35th Assembly District, which encompasses Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai and most of Santa Barbara County.

Mindy Lorenz of Summerland, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Green Party candidate in 1992, and Bob Ream of Santa Barbara, an aide to Sen. Hart, will compete for the Democratic nomination in June to challenge Firestone in the fall.

Lorenz said her political experience and her ability to work her way up from being a single mother living on food stamps to earning a doctoral degree and a California State University teaching job more than qualifies her for the job.

But Ream said his five years of working as an aide to Hart and helping to initiate legislation gives him an edge over his Democratic rival.

“I know how the system works,” he said.

In eastern Ventura County, voters will go to the polls to decide who will replace Supervisors VanderKolk and Howard.

The five candidates competing for VanderKolk’s 2nd District seat are City Councilman Frank Schillo, former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings and attorney Trudi K. Loh, all of Thousand Oaks, and Carter J. Ward, a Malibu rancher.

Port Hueneme resident David Goodman dropped out of the race Friday, deciding instead to endorse Schillo.

The four candidates running for Howard’s 4th-District seat are Simi Valley City Council members Judy Mikels and Barbara Williamson, Moorpark Councilman Scott Montgomery and Jim Meredith of Simi Valley, a longtime member of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

In addition to tackling the county’s continuing budget problems, the two new supervisors will be faced with the challenge of finding a new dump site to serve west county cities and dealing with increasing incidents of violent crimes, particularly in the east county.

“It’s a tough job,” Schaefer said in announcing her candidacy recently. “There’s not a lot of fun it.”