THOUSAND OAKS : Ex-Commissioner to Run for Council

Andy Fox, a former Thousand Oaks planning commissioner, said Tuesday that he will run for the City Council in November.

With his professional background as a Los Angeles fire captain, Fox, 35, said he believes that he can bring strong leadership to the council on issues of public safety and managed growth. He said he also believes that he can help return order to a council often criticized for its divisiveness.

“Personal public attacks by elected officials against each other and, even worse, against residents attempting to exercise their civil rights, is simply unacceptable,” Fox said in a campaign statement. He said he plans to make a formal announcement about his candidacy Thursday.

Fox, a resident of Thousand Oaks for 12 years, was a planning commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and has been a member of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors’ Citizen Advisory Group,the Thousand Oaks Housing Issues Committee and the Thousand Oaks Arts Commission.

There are three seats on the five-member council up for election in November, including those held by incumbents Judy Lazar and Elois Zeanah. Councilman Alex Fiore will retire this fall after serving 30 years.

Both Lazar and Zeanah said they will seek reelection. Also, Gregory Cole, a former planning commissioner and trustee of the Ventura County Community College District, and Mike Markey, a Compton homicide detective, have said they plan to run.