ELECTIONS / BOARD OF SUPERVISORS : Loh, Schillo Exchange Barbs on Talk Show

Ventura County supervisor candidates Frank Schillo and Trudi Loh butted heads Friday in their first debate since the primary, exchanging verbal blows on everything from development to trash issues.

Schillo, a Thousand Oaks city councilman, and Loh, an attorney, squared off on a local morning radio talk show broadcast by KNJO-FM. The two are competing for the seat being vacated by retiring Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, whose district includes Thousand Oaks and Port Hueneme.

From the start of the hourlong program, the two candidates attacked each other’s positions on a wide range of issues, while questioning one another’s judgment and ability to serve as a county supervisor.

In one exchange, Loh criticized Schillo’s support for the Dos Vientos housing project planned for Newbury Park, saying it violated environmental regulations and would cause severe traffic problems on Wendy Drive and Potrero Road.

“Mr. Schillo nevertheless voted in favor of the project,” Loh said. “I think it would be a mistake to put somebody on the Board of Supervisors that has no intention of enforcing the laws that the county has on the books.”

Schillo accused Loh of not coming to City Council meetings to voice her protests against the Dos Vientos project, which he said complied with the city’s General Plan for development. He said the project originally called for 3,000 units, but was eventually scaled back to 2,350.

“I think Mrs. Loh has a lack of understanding of what a General Plan is,” Schillo said. “As far as the environment and planning are concerned, I don’t think we need someone on the Board of Supervisors who doesn’t understand that.”

Loh then proceeded to list her credentials as a corporate attorney and her experience handling legal issues for developers.

“Yes, I do understand what general plans are, Mr. Schillo,” she said. “I have a doctorate degree and that degree says I can read laws, and I can understand statutes. In fact, I can even write them, Mr. Schillo.”

The two candidates also clashed over the issue of a proposed west county landfill at Weldon Canyon near Ojai.

Loh suggested that the county explore other alternatives for disposing of its trash, including more aggressive recycling programs or possibly even shipping its waste elsewhere by rail.

“It’s unreasonable and unsound for people in the east county to support a landfill in the west county,” said Loh, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that counties cannot tell landfill operators where they can take trash from.

“If we open up a landfill in Weldon Canyon, the people who own it and operate it will need to fill it up to make money,” Loh said. “They’re going to have to import a whole lot of trash to do this . . . and we will eventually become a regional and possibly a statewide trash facility.”

Schillo argued that if a new west county landfill is not developed, the Simi Valley Landfill would eventually become the county’s sole dump.

“My opponent says that our trash is going to be sent to Utah or someplace,” Schillo said. “Nobody is going to take our trash. It’s going to end up at the Simi Valley Landfill. That means there are going to be 400 dump trucks a day filled with trash coming right through (Thousand Oaks). I challenge anybody to tell me that this is environmentally sensitive.”

In another exchange, Loh criticized Schillo’s support for allowing the Ahmanson Land Co. to extend its development agreement with the county. In return for the right to develop a mini-city in the Simi Hills, Ahmanson agreed to turn over thousands of acres of privately owned mountain land to park agencies.

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But the deal has been stalled by lawsuits filed against the developer, which initially had until 1995 to complete the land transactions. Ahmanson is now asking that the deadline for acquiring two ranch properties owned by Bob Hope be pushed back three years.

After pressuring the county to fast-track its giant housing project, Loh said Ahmanson should not be allowed a three-year extension without firm guarantees that it will acquire Hope’s properties.

Otherwise, Loh said she fears the developer will eventually try to back out of its pledge to acquire Hope’s land. “They’ll say, ‘Gee, here’s some money instead of open space,’ ” Loh said. “And they will nickel-and-dime us and negotiate us out of what we bargained for.”

Schillo noted that the environmental group Save Open Space, which has endorsed Loh for supervisor, was one of the parties that filed suit against Ahmanson over environmental concerns from its project.

“This has put (Ahmanson) on the defensive,” he said. “And as time goes on they can’t perform (their obligations). . . . So I support the extension. I think it’s only fair to give them more time until the lawsuits are settled.”

Simi Valley Councilwoman Judy Mikels and Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery, candidates for the other east county supervisor seat being vacated by Vicky Howard, were also guests on Friday’s radio talk show. Their question-and-answer session, however, was a much more low-key affair.