Finalists Set for Heated Supervisorial Races : Results: Frank Schillo faces Trudi Loh over issues of environment and experience. Judy Mikels and Scott Montgomery square off over their service records.

Taking barely a moment to celebrate their primary election victories, the four finalists for two seats on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors were already gearing up Wednesday for a November runoff that promises much harder-hitting campaigns.

Veteran Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo will square off against first-time candidate Trudi Loh in a race that is expected to be dominated by growth issues. And Moorpark Councilman Scott Montgomery will battle Simi Valley Councilwoman Judy Mikels in a separate supervisorial showdown that will focus largely on their public records.

The stage has also been set for several competitive legislative and congressional contests in the fall.

The race in the 24th Congressional District, which includes Thousand Oaks, will match a former top aide to Gov. Pete Wilson against an 18-year Democratic incumbent.

And in the 35th state Assembly District, which includes portions of western Ventura County, a college professor who once lived on food stamps will square off against a wealthy Santa Barbara winery owner.

Voter turnout in Ventura County was at its lowest in recent memory in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary, with less than 35% of the county’s 339,356 voters casting ballots. Election officials cited voter apathy and a lack of compelling ballot initiatives for the low turnout.

Bruce Bradley, the county’s chief election official, said about 8,000 of an estimated 24,000 absentee ballots have yet to be counted. He said he expects to have all of the ballots counted by next week.

Appointed Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon, who failed to capture more than 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, will have to wait for the final tallies to find out who he will face in a November runoff. Ventura accountants Scott Weiss and Richard Morrisset were running neck-and-neck for the second-place position, with Weiss holding a slim 75-vote lead.

Bradley said the remaining ballots will decide several Ventura County Republican Central Committee elections, which pit a number of Christian conservatives against more moderate Republicans who dominate the local party’s organization.

In other county races, Assistant Dist. Atty. Colleen Toy White will be the county’s newest Superior Court judge after coasting to an easy victory over defense attorney James M. Farley. However, unless Gov. Wilson decides to appoint her early to fill the vacant seat, White will have to wait until January to take her place on the bench, court officials said.

County Clerk Richard Dean, Tax Assessor Glenn E. Gray and Supt. of Schools Charles Weis each held on to their respective jobs in Tuesday’s election.

Sheriff Larry Carpenter, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury and Tax Collector Harold Pittman were automatically returned to office because they faced no formal opposition. However, more than 1,400 voters in each race cast protest ballots for write-in candidates.

Here is a closer look at the local, state and federal races Ventura County voters will face in November.

County Supervisors

In the 2nd District, which covers Thousand Oaks and Port Hueneme, Schillo will face Loh in a campaign that is expected to focus on issues ranging from growth to waste management.

For example, Schillo strongly backs a proposal to develop a new west county landfill, while Loh prefers to explore other alternatives for disposing of trash, such as shipping it elsewhere.

Both candidates said they expect a tough race in November, one that will also focus more on their qualifications for the job.

Schillo, who has served on the Thousand Oaks City Council for 10 years, said he will emphasize his experience and accomplishments. “In government you need experience to know how to get things done,” he said.

Loh, an attorney, hopes to turn her lack of government experience into an asset. “I think people want change,” she said. “They’re not happy with what’s been going on. They want someone with a new perspective and new ideas.”

Schillo collected 32.8% of the vote, while Loh received 23.9%, according to semi-final results from Tuesday’s election. Former Ventura County Supervisor Madge Schaefer, who was hoping to recapture her old seat, came in third with 20.7% of the vote.

Loh said she was not discouraged by Schillo’s wide margin of votes, saying, “I’ve been at this 10 weeks, he’s been at it 10 years.”

In the 4th District, which covers Moorpark and Simi Valley, Montgomery will go head-to-head in November against Mikels in what promises to be a hard-fought race. The two have already expressed differing views on several issues.

Montgomery supports the establishment of a pilot program to offer paramedic training to county firefighters. But he has expressed strong reservations about a proposed commercial airport at Point Mugu, which he fears could spur development of farmland in Camarillo.

Mikels said she does not believe the county can afford at this time to convert county firefighters into a paramedic force. Mikels is a strong advocate of establishing a commercial airstrip at Point Mugu.

The two candidates said they also plan to emphasize their experience serving on a number of city and county committees, dealing with everything from waste management to regional government.

“I was sitting on committees long before Judy was elected,” said Montgomery, who notes that he has served as a council member for six years compared to Mikel’s three.

But Mikels said Montgomery’s government experience could not easily be compared to her own, since Moorpark is four times smaller than Simi Valley.

“Moorpark doesn’t even have an emergency operations center,” Mikels said. “After the earthquake, officials had to meet at the mayor’s house.”

Congressional District 23

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) will face Democrat Kevin Ready, a Santa Barbara County deputy counsel, in the district that covers all of Ventura County except most of Thousand Oaks.

Gallegly, seeking a fifth term, has already amassed $133,073 for the fall campaign.

Ready, with virtually no name recognition, failed to raise more than $5,000 in the primary. However, he said before the primary that once he secured the Democratic nomination, it would be easier to raise the money needed to mount a credible campaign against an entrenched incumbent such as Gallegly.

Congressional District 24

In what promises to be one of the most visible congressional races this fall, Republican Richard Sybert, Gov. Wilson’s former director of planning and research, will go up against Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), an 18-year veteran of Congress.

In a glimpse of what is expected to be a political brawl in November, Sybert on Wednesday immediately came out swinging at Beilenson, saying the congressman was too liberal to represent the district that stretches from Thousand Oaks to Sherman Oaks.

“He’s soft on crime, weak on defense and tough on taxpayers,” said Sybert, who challenged Beilenson to a series of debates.

But Beilenson’s top political adviser quickly rose to the challenge, predicting the incumbent would welcome debates and attacking Sybert as a rank newcomer to the 24th Congressional District--thus repeating a charge Sybert’s fellow Republicans continuously made.

“Sybert has only recently moved into the district and the only reason he won (the GOP primary) is that he invested a tremendous amount of his personal wealth into the election,” said consultant Craig Miller. “He’s a manufactured candidate.”

State Senate District 18

Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) will be matched against former San Luis Obispo Supervisor Steve MacElvaine for an open seat in the 18th state Senate District that includes the cities of Ventura, Santa Paula and Ojai.

MacElvaine has said that he believes O’Connell is vulnerable because 1990 reapportionment shoved the senate district into conservative San Luis Obispo County.

But O’Connell, who enjoyed strong bipartisan support in his 35th Assembly District, has been walking precincts since last July and has already amassed more than $300,000 for the fall campaign.

“We’re going to stick to the script,” he said. “I’m going to run on my record.”

Assembly District 38

Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) will face Josh Arce, a 19-year-old political novice, in the 38th Assembly District that includes Simi Valley and Fillmore.

Although Arce has little name recognition or financial support, he said he believes he can run a credible grass-roots campaign against Boland.

“I don’t have ties to any lobbying groups, which have taken over the decision-making process,” said Arce, a Spanish major at UCLA. “I’m going to go in as a 19-year-old who is willing to work with both parties to come up with solutions to problems.”

Assembly District 37

Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard), who is seeking his second term, will face his old nemesis, former Oxnard City Councilwoman Dorothy Maron, in the district that covers most of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Port Hueneme and Oxnard.

Maron has already attacked Takasugi for doing little to curb crime and joblessness. Takasugi, however, has said that he helped reform workers’ compensation laws and was instrumental in getting last year’s state budget out on time, something that had not occurred in seven years.

Assembly District 35

Santa Barbara winery owner Brooks Firestone will square off against Mindy Lorenz, a former Green Party congressional candidate, in the 35th District, which includes Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai and most of Santa Barbara County.

Firestone is expected to focus attention on Lorenz’s past affiliation with the Green Party. Lorenz, on the other hand, said she will stress her real-life experience as a single mother who lived on food stamps before she earned a job as a college professor.

“I’m someone who understands the concerns of working families,” she said.

Times staff writer John Schwada contributed to this story.

County Offices

District Attorney

100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Michael D. Bradbury *: 75,890 (100)

Sheriff 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Larry Carpenter**: 80,255 (100)

Treasurer-Tax Collector and Public Administrator 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Harold S. Pittman*: 82,240 (100)

(Other Ventura County results are on page A23 of the Home Edition)