ELECTIONS /4th SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT : Simi’s Mikels Points to Her Experience in Bid to Succeed Howard

Protecting funding for law enforcement, keeping government off the backs of business and establishing a commercial airport at Point Mugu are among the goals Judy Mikels plans to pursue if elected to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

As a member of the Simi Valley City Council, Mikels said she understands the concerns residents have about crime in their neighborhoods and schools. As the owner of a small framing business, she said she knows firsthand the need for economic recovery and more jobs.

Mikels, 48, said she also has a regional perspective on issues facing the county. She is a member of the Ventura County Council on Economic Vitality, the Southern California Assn. of Governments and the California Environmental Protection Agency.

“My experience sets me apart” from her two opponents, said Mikels, who has been endorsed by outgoing Supervisor Vicky Howard. “I’m really in this just to make sure that the people of this county have a real shot at keeping this area what they want it to be.”

Howard, who has decided not to seek a second term, described Mikels as dedicated, hard-working and knowledgeable on local as well as county and regional issues.

“She’s extremely hard-working,” Howard said. “And that’s important because this is a job that requires a lot of time and dedication on top of everything else because it’s a moving target. There are new issues and new problems coming up all the time.”

Simi Valley Planning Commissioner Michael Piper, who has worked with Mikels on the council and the Planning Commission, agreed with Howard’s assessment.

“I think Judy is absolutely the most qualified candidate,” Piper said. “The energy is there, and the intellect is there. She has invested a lot of time in understanding the issues.”

If elected, Mikels said one of her top priorities would be to ensure that the county’s law enforcement agencies and criminal justice system have adequate staffing and equipment to do their jobs effectively.

“We need to put our resources where we need them most, and I think that is in law enforcement,” said Mikels, who has been endorsed by former Simi Valley Police Chief Paul Miller.

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To help stimulate the economy and bring new jobs to the area, Mikels supports a proposal to establish a commercial airport at Point Mugu. The Navy has offered to share its runway with the county to reduce operating costs.

“We need it for safety, for revenue and for business growth,” Mikels said, adding that a shared use of the runway would also protect the Navy base from possible closure in the future.

“We need those jobs,” she said. “It’s not just the military, but all the contractors and subcontractors that work for the government on that base. You’re talking about a tremendous amount of jobs.”

Although some critics say there is not enough of a demand for passenger service to support a commercial airport, Mikels said it is important for the county to take steps to protect its options with the Navy.

“To say we don’t need commercial air service in this county is very shortsighted,” she said. “Maybe we don’t need it in the next five years, but if we don’t protect Point Mugu until we grow into the need for full commercial service, then we’re never going to site another airport in this county again.”

Mikels said she also supports a proposal to add a new $30-million outpatient wing to Ventura County Medical Center. The Board of Supervisors has approved the expansion in concept but will not consider a funding package until 1995.

The project has prompted Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura to launch a campaign against expansion of the public hospital, which it considers an emerging competitor for private patients.

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Mikels said she believes that the public’s health needs will continue to increase in the future “and I don’t believe private hospitals are going to be prepared to take care of those needs.”

If President Clinton’s health plan is passed, however, Mikels said then the county may want to take another look at the scope of the project to determine its financial viability.

“Based on that, I might delay expansion if it is fiscally prudent to do so,” she said.

Mikels also backs a proposal to develop a new landfill at Weldon Canyon near Ojai to serve the cities of the west county. Bailard Landfill in Oxnard is slated to close in 1997.

Mikels worries that if another landfill site is not developed in the interim, then west county cities could end up shipping their trash to the Simi Valley Landfill, which she strongly opposes.

Although Ojai officials have successfully fought a new west county dump, a group of San Diego investors who want to develop a landfill at Weldon Canyon is collecting signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.

Mikels, who is an alternate member on the East County Waste Task Force, questions whether a ballot initiative would be legally binding because of all the regulatory agencies that would be involved. But she said she supports a ballot measure because “it would force the issue.”

Mikels said she has personally surveyed the Weldon Canyon site and believes that it is the best location for a new dump.

“It’s not a NIMBY thing with me,” she said. “It’s just a good solid place to put a landfill.”

In other issues, Mikels said she agrees that firefighters in the future should receive a share of money generated from Proposition 172--a half-cent sales tax initiative approved by state voters in November for public safety programs. The money is now split among law enforcement agencies.

“Once we get a new fire chief in place, I think firefighters could and should go back to the table and be a part of the Proposition 172 funding,” Mikels said.

The candidate said she always planned to run for county supervisor; she just never knew when. Then one day in early February, she got a surprise call from Howard, who said she would not be seeking reelection. Would Mikels be interested in running?

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“At first I said no, because my mind was so boggled,” Mikels said. “It was such a traumatic announcement. I honestly expected Vicky to go two terms or maybe three.”

But after discussing the issue with her family and doing some soul-searching, Mikels decided to enter the race, with Howard’s endorsement.

Part of her motivation for running, Mikels said, was because the only announced candidate at the time was her council colleague Barbara Williamson. Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery announced his candidacy the same day as Mikels.

“Quite frankly, I just didn’t think Barbara was going to do a good job” because of her lack of government experience, Mikels said. Mikels was elected to the council in 1990 and Williamson in 1992.

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Mikels said she believes that Williamson is still learning the ins and outs of city government and is not prepared to make the jump to the county.

“Nobody can just walk into this job and know everything,” she said. “It’s an incredible learning curve. There’s public safety issues, planning issues, public works issues . . . and you’ve got to make the effort to learn it. I don’t see that she’s done that.”

But Williamson, a vice president at Simi Valley Bank, sees her newcomer status as an advantage. She paints Mikels as a defender of the status quo and says what voters want is new leadership in county government.

“I don’t want another Vicky Howard,” said Williamson, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the supervisor for what she perceives as a lack of leadership. “In essence, that’s exactly what we’re going to get if Judy gets elected.”

Williamson stresses that Mikels was Howard’s third choice to run for supervisor. She noted that Howard had also consulted with Mayor Greg Stratton, who had already committed to run for county auditor-controller, and Miller.

“If I was the 50th choice, it didn’t matter,” said Mikels, who stands to lose her council seat if she either wins the supervisor race in June or qualifies for a runoff in November. “If I decided to run, it was because I wanted to run. It didn’t matter what anybody else wanted.”

While Howard in many ways has served as her political mentor, Mikels pointed out that the two have distinctly different personalities and styles of governing. Howard is quiet and studious; Mikels is outspoken and aggressive.

“I’m a lot like Vicky in that I do my homework,” Mikels said. “I’m unlike Vicky in that I’m not very often perceived to be a lady. I have a reputation for being tough. I won’t be walked on.”

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Mikels said she believes that Howard’s endorsement is a vote of confidence in her abilities and one that will help draw support for her campaign.

“It’s important,” Mikels said of Howard’s endorsement. “She is very highly regarded in the district. For those people I can’t get to, if they were pleased with Vicky and know her integrity, they will support me. I think it shows that Vicky believes I can do the same or as good a job as she can.”

Although Mikels received Miller’s endorsement, the Simi Valley Police Officers Assn. and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Assn. have endorsed Williamson.

Dave Williams, president of the Sheriff’s Deputy Assn., said the union believed that Williamson’s banking experience would give her an advantage in dealing with county budget matters and ensuring that law enforcement was protected from cuts.

“It really was not a vote against Judy, but an endorsement of Barbara,” he said. “We think both of them are very fair.”

Mikels played down the importance of Williamson’s endorsements, saying they were representative of the unions’ leadership and not from the rank and file.

“I personally have a lot of support from individuals” in those agencies, she said. After pausing a moment, Mikels added: “Endorsements are funny. I’m not sure they really help all that much.”

Profile of Judy Mikels

One of three candidates competing for the seat being vacated by County Supervisor Vicky Howard, whose 4th District covers Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and the Santa Clara Valley.

Born: June 20, 1945

Occupation: Simi Valley city councilwoman, operates picture frame business

Education: Associate’s degree in science from Contra Costa College in Contra Costa, Calif.

Background: Councilwoman since 1990; planning commissioner from 1988 to 1990; member of the Southern California Assn. of Governments, the Ventura/San Fernando Valley Freeway Improvement Committee, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Ventura County Council on Economic Vitality.

Quote: “I’m a hard worker and a no-nonsense person. I’ve been told I don’t fit the classic mold of a politician.”