ELECTIONS / COUNTY OFFICIALS : Traditionally Low-Profile Races Draw New Interest

Amid legal squabbles and questions about Ventura County’s financial leadership, the campaigns for the jobs of auditor-controller, tax assessor and clerk-recorder have attracted more voter attention than usual--and candidates say there is plenty at stake in Tuesday’s election.

Despite their relative anonymity, the holders of these posts are well-paid administrators who are responsible for cutting the county’s checks, assessing its property values and running its elections. They also supervise large staffs and manage multimillion-dollar budgets.

In short, each serves as a public guardian over the daily operations of county government, ensuring its efficiency and effectiveness.

Some county officials said all three races have attracted more attention than usual because of past controversies over the salaries and perks paid to elected officials and county administrators.

“I think these races have gotten more interest this time because the Board of Supervisors has been under attack for not having good leadership on the perks issue and other things,” Supervisor John Flynn said.

Here is a look at each of the three countywide offices that voters will decide Tuesday.

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Auditor-Controller: Of the three races, the auditor-controller’s is the most competitive, with five candidates vying for the job that pays $128,000 annually in salary and benefits.

The county’s chief financial officer monitors county revenues and expenditures, conducts department audits, prepares the county’s payroll and budget, and supervises a staff of 74. The last contested election for auditor-controller was in 1970.

The candidates competing for the job are Thomas O. Mahon, 71, who was appointed auditor-controller last year after serving as assistant auditor for 20 years; and accountants William Baker, 36, of Ventura; Richard Morrisset, 41, of Oxnard; Scott Weiss, 38, of Ventura, and Clifford Wigen, 60, of Simi Valley.

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton was disqualified from the race last month after Baker filed a lawsuit, claiming Stratton did not have the accounting experience required for the job. Stratton has since endorsed Mahon.

With Stratton out of the race, most of the candidates have focused their criticism on the appointed incumbent, whom they label a “career bureaucrat.”

They question how Mahon can call himself an “independent auditor” when he has accepted campaign contributions from county employees’ unions as well as from such officials as Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, Supervisor Maggie Kildee and County Counsel James McBride.

“I don’t believe you can be an independent auditor once you take money from these groups,” said Baker, who worked for the county as a financial analyst from 1985 to 1990.

Wigen agreed and has made it a point not to accept money from special interests. Of the $25,175 in campaign contributions he recently reported, all but $100 came from Wigen himself.

“It does not look good to take money from those who may be involved in audits,” he said.

But Mahon said he sees nothing wrong with the campaign contributions he has received from county officials.

“I’ve been with the county for 23 years,” Mahon said. “These people have gotten to know me and they trust me enough to give me their support. I feel very proud about that.”

Mahon said he has also demonstrated that he can be impartial. He noted that his office conducted a stinging audit of the county Fire Department last year that showed it was top-heavy with managers and lax on sick leave.

“My son is a county firefighter and treasurer of the union,” Mahon said, adding that his son, Chris, testified before the Board of Supervisors to denounce some of the audit’s findings.

Mahon has also been criticized for not speaking out on the supervisors’ 1989 approval of large financial perks for themselves and other county officials, or the 1992 approval of early retirement for 43 employees and administrators at a cost of nearly $3 million.

“He never opened his mouth,” Weiss said. “If I’m elected, I’m going to open my mouth. The public needs to have someone in there who is going to save taxpayer money.”

Mahon said he was not the auditor when those decisions were made.

“Yes, I was on the staff but this was board-approved,” he said. “It was all done in public session. There was nothing illegal about it.”

Weiss and Baker said they believe that Mahon is overpaid. If elected, each said, they would be willing to cut their salary by 15% to 20%.

Mahon defended his salary and benefits package, saying it was well-deserved compensation for his work.

“I earn it, and the work and results produced by this office” show that, he said. “I would question the intent of anybody who says, ‘Vote for me because I will take less money.’ If that’s what they think about themselves, then that must be their true value.”

Mahon said that since he took over the auditor’s post last year, the county’s bond rating has improved from A to A-plus, making it cheaper for the county to borrow money through bond sales. He also said a San Francisco accounting firm recently rated Ventura County as the most credit-worthy of the state’s 14 largest counties.

A runoff in November is possible if the top vote-getter in the auditor’s race fails to collect more than 50% of the vote.

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Clerk-Recorder: In one of the more bitter battles for a countywide office this election season, Dan Schmidt, 39, owner of a legal advertising business, is running against longtime incumbent County Clerk Richard Dean, 51.

The county clerk-recorder receives $127,000 annually in salary and benefits. The clerk is responsible for supervising a staff of 62 that performs clerical work for county supervisors, runs county elections and keeps track of land deeds and other important documents. The last contested election for the office occurred 12 years ago.

Dean, who has served as clerk since 1983, said Schmidt is running because he is upset about a legal complaint brought by the clerk’s office three years ago against Schmidt and his business. The complaint alleged that Schmidt had engaged in false and deceptive advertising practices.

As a result of that case, a judge recently ordered Schmidt to pay a $2,500 fine. Schmidt maintains that he consulted with officials in the clerk’s office before mailing advertising flyers and assumed there was no problem. The clerk’s office, however, never officially approved the flyers, which appeared to be from a government agency.

“This is a personal vendetta,” Dean said of Schmidt’s campaign. “He blames us for the legal problems he’s had for the last three years.”

Schmidt denied the accusation. He said he is running because he believes the clerk’s office can be managed more efficiently. He recently filed a lawsuit to force Dean’s office to release its 1994-95 draft budget so Schmidt could use it in his campaign.

But Superior Court Judge John Hunter on Thursday denied Schmidt’s request, agreeing with the county clerk’s office that the budget document is in draft form and subject to revision.

Schmidt promises that, if elected, he would open the county clerk’s office on Fridays and voluntarily cut his salary by 25%. He said he would recommend a 25% salary cut for all of the county’s top administrators.

“I’m outraged by the high salary increases received by county officials at a time when public services are decreasing while taxes and fees are increasing,” Schmidt said. “It doesn’t have to happen. We can do something about it by getting rid of the incumbents.”

Dean maintains that his office is operating as efficiently as possible. He also notes that the Board of Supervisors decides his pay and also when the clerk’s office will open.

“I can’t control that,” Dean said.

Dean said he was shocked by Schmidt’s aggressive campaign, which is almost totally financed by a personal loan of more than $8,000. Schmidt has used some of that money to pay for two four-page newspaper ads criticizing Dean’s job performance.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be in this kind of race just for doing my job,” Dean said.

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Tax Assessor: Acting county Tax Assessor Glenn E. Gray, 55, is being challenged for his job by Ventura City Councilman Jack Tingstrom, 58.

The assessor’s duties include evaluating all taxable property, supervising a staff of 113 and managing a budget of $7 million. The job pays $102,000 a year in salary and benefits. The last time there was a contested election for the assessor’s job was in 1986.

Gray’s campaign has focused largely on his experience and knowledge of the job’s technical aspects.

“I think we need to have someone who is qualified run the office,” said Gray, who has worked in the assessor’s office for 31 years, including seven years as assistant assessor. “It would be one thing if the other candidate had been an assessor. But not to have any experience at all I don’t think is good.”

But Tingstrom, 58, argues that the assessor’s job is more of a managerial post, one that Tingstrom says he is more than qualified to fill. Tingstrom retired in 1985 after 30 years as a mid-level manager at GTE Corp.

He said he would bring a fresh perspective to the job because he has experience as a manager in private industry.

“If people believe that you need to have been in the job for 31 years to know how to do it, then they’re going to vote for (Gray),” Tingstrom said. “If they believe that county government needs a new direction in management, then they’re going to vote for me.”