Outgoing Mayor Outlines Her 28 Accomplishments : Thousand Oaks: Elois Zeanah plans to pat herself on the back. But foes disagree with some citations.

In the city’s regular leadership shuffle, Thousand Oaks Mayor Elois Zeanah on Tuesday will hand her title, her chair and her ceremonial gavel to veteran Councilman Alex Fiore.

But first, she intends to give herself a hearty pat on the back.

Never one to play wallflower, Zeanah plans to end her nine-month stint as mayor with a rhetorical flourish--a glowing speech reviewing her tenure and recapping her successes.

So far, she’s typed up a list of 28 achievements, all backing her oft-repeated promise to “challenge our business-as-usual models.”

Her political foes offer their own challenges, noting that some of the changes Zeanah cites as milestones of her mayoral term were actually initiated years ago. A program to help low-income renters buy homes in the Las Casitas neighborhood, for example, was launched during Zeanah’s term, but had been planned months before she took office.

Still, Zeanah sticks by her record.

“I set out a very ambitious plan and I’m awe-struck at how much we’ve done,” she said.

In fact, Zeanah has achieved most of the goals outlined in her inaugural speech last fall. Her biggest accomplishments include:

* Founding the Mayor’s Business Roundtable, which has proposed several initiatives to cut red tape and boost the local economy.

* Organizing a Crime Symposium, which brought residents together to develop a community-wide strategy for keeping Thousand Oaks safe.

* Developing an electronic bulletin board which will allow residents to tap into City Hall through their computers.

* Appointing citizens, for the first time, to the council committee that deals with affordable housing.

Eager to complete her agenda, Zeanah said she hopes to use her clout as a council member to fight for a few remaining goals.

First and foremost, she said she wants to write a law that would force all developers’ lobbyists to register with the city and disclose every meeting with council members or staff. Zeanah also plans to develop a user-friendly manual explaining the city’s budget, so residents can trace their tax dollars through the system.

Those initiatives will have to wait a bit, as Zeanah takes next week to reflect on her triumphs.

Her fellow council members, however, will not let her bask unchallenged.

They complain, for example, that during her term as mayor, Zeanah seemed powerless to stop the political cat fights that have come to characterize the Thousand Oaks City Council.

“She’s really unable to control the bickering,” Councilman Frank Schillo said. “People are laughing at us . . . because the mayor is not able to control the meetings.”

Zeanah’s foes also grouse about some of her tactics, such as her decision to establish the Mayor’s Business Roundtable without first seeking council approval.

“She certainly did a lot of things her way, and her way was not necessarily the way the council has operated effectively in the past,” Councilwoman Judy Lazar said. “Her way was effective to accomplish her goals, but it didn’t bring the council together.”

In defense of Zeanah, Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said she believed no one could have united the ever-contentious council. “But she chaired and managed the meetings in an exemplary manner,” Zukowski said.

Zukowski should soon get her own chance to test out the mayor’s gavel. She is expected to be elected mayor pro tem on Tuesday, and will be chairwoman of council meetings when Fiore is absent.

For his part, Fiore has set out just a few simple goals for his term as mayor, which will wrap up a 30-year political career. He wants to keep the meetings short and generate enthusiasm about October’s grand opening of the Civic Arts Plaza.

And he’s not planning any long inaugural speech on Tuesday night.

“I’ll probably just say ‘thank you,’ ” he said.