THOUSAND OAKS : Donors Ask to Join Theater Commission

Less than a year after appointing seven people to a brand-new theater commission, Thousand Oaks council members today will consider altering the makeup of the panel to add seats for major donors.

Convinced that they must give donors more decision-making power to keep the money flowing, Civic Arts Plaza fund-raisers will ask the council to set aside five seats for donors. Under the proposal, the Alliance for the Arts fund-raising cabinet would nominate the donors, and the council would approve their appointment to the commission.

The Alliance for the Arts, which now sends a non-voting member to theater commission meetings, would also get a formal voice in setting policy for the Civic Arts Plaza. So would representatives from the city-appointed Arts Commission and the independent Arts Council.

While some critics have suggested that the restructuring plan amounts to an obvious power grab, alliance members say they’re simply responding to donors who want to steer their investments by overseeing the Civic Arts Plaza budget.

“Any way you slice it, it’s nine city appointments to six alliance appointments, so taxpayers retain control,” said Stephen Woodworth, alliance chairman.

Council members have expressed ambivalence about the proposal, which would dilute their direct control over the theater commission.