ELECTIONS / THOUSAND OAKS, SIMI VALLEY COUNCILS : Candidates Report on Finances; Auto Mall Gives 1 Contender $12,750

City council and school board candidates in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley filed campaign finance statements Wednesday, including one by a young dark horse who disclosed a huge contribution.

Michael V. Friedman, 27, reported receiving $12,750 from the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall Assn., plus $250 from Nesen Motor Car Co. in his bid for one of three Thousand Oaks council seats.

“We don’t feel that certain City Council members have supported business growth in the community,” said Gary Nesen, co-owner of the dealership and association vice president. “So we are supporting the candidates that share similar business views and that understand the priority of having stable businesses in the community.”

The Auto Mall donation was the largest in any council race in recent memory, and eclipsed the amount most council candidates spend in an entire campaign, county elections chief Bruce Bradley said.

“That’s Thousand Oaks . . . They take their city elections so seriously,” Bradley said. “In Moorpark, only three people filed for three offices. No one filed against the mayors in Oxnard and Simi Valley. Yet Thousand Oaks has, what? Sixteen candidates.”

The Auto Mall also gave $2,000 to retired businessman Marshall Dixon, 69, who received a total of $6,518 by the end of the reporting period that ended Sept. 30.

The $12,750 gift was a shock and a surprise, said Friedman, co-owner of a finance company. In all, he received about $13,800 in donations.

Friedman said the association has asked for nothing in return, nor will he be beholden to it. “I’m not anybody’s boy. I’m very independent in what I think and say.”

Councilwoman Judy Lazar raised more than any other Thousand Oaks candidate, $15,074. That includes $1,000 from Amgen and a $3,000 loan she made to herself. Councilwoman Elois Zeanah raised $7,667, including a $2,500 loan from her husband, James Zeanah.

*

Former Planning Commissioner Andy Fox, a 36-year-old Los Angeles fire captain, raised $14,558.

“There are lots of hundred-dollar and smaller contributions,” Fox said. He received $500 and an endorsement from the county firefighters’ union.

In his first run for City Council, community college trustee Gregory Cole raised $4,393 and lent himself $5,000.

Homicide Detective Michael Markey raised $4,466, including $1,000 from the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs.

In Simi Valley, Councilwoman Sandi Webb led fund-raising by seven candidates vying for two council seats. She raised $8,500 in the last three-month filing period and has about $15,000 for the entire campaign, she said.

However, the campaign statement filed by Webb’s treasurer declares contributions of $46,835.

“That is definitely an error,” Webb said. “Fifteen thousand is the actual number.”

Webb’s single largest contribution was $1,000 from the city police union, which endorsed her last month.

*

Contributions from developers and property managers also made up a significant chunk of Webb’s contributions. Great Northern Marketing and Management of Reno gave her $1,000 and HapiManagement of Beverly Hills has donated $625.

Webb also received $275 from Lloyd Maitland, an attorney who arranged the controversial $3.5-million city purchase of 32 acres zoned for a regional mall.

Former Police Chief Lindsey Paul Miller reported $8,300 in the last period and a total of about $11,300.

Among Miller’s largest contributors are Friends of District Attorney Mike Bradbury, which gave $250, and Boys and Girls Club President Timothy Shannon, who donated $200.

Former Chamber of Commerce President Michael S. McCaffrey has raised $5,900, including $1,000 from Spectrum Land Planning, a Simi Valley architectural design company. He has received $500 worth of wood for campaign signs from Councilwoman Barbara Williamson.

*

At the other end of the spectrum, political unknown Douglas K. Dubin has not raised a penny, and has spent just $30 of his own money. Instead of fund-raising, he is asking his supporters to make contributions in his name to their favorite charity.

“Why should you spend thousands of dollars on a campaign for a job that only pays $7,000 or $8,000 a year?” Dubin asked.

Of the other candidates, Planning Commissioner Dean F. Kunicki reported $4,789.39 in contributions, Joseph R. Vesalga reported $1,140. The city had not received a statement from Ernest W. Federer.

Mayor Greg Stratton, who is running unopposed, received $3,300.

Development consultant Robert H. Levonian gave generously. He works for Mt. Sinai Cemetery on a cemetery-and-housing sudivison project recently approved by the council.

Levonian gave Stratton $500, Miller $200 and Webb $125. Councilwoman Judy Mikels, who is running for county supervisor, received $1,000 from him.

School board candidates in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks raised smaller amounts than most council candidates.

In Thousand Oaks, Cheryl Heitmann reported raising more than any trustee candidate in the east county, $5,885.

*

Heitmann, one of 10 candidates seeking three seats on the Conejo Valley school board, contributed $1,500 to her own campaign.

Candidates Ellyn H. Wilkins, Susan Witting, Elroi Reimnitz, and Elaine McKearn filed statements by Wednesday afternoon, but none received more than $1,500.

Because this is the first time the Conejo Valley school board race has coincided with the general election, candidates need to campaign harder, Heitmann said.

“It takes more money to reach more people.” she said.

In the Simi Valley school board race, where six candidates are vying for two seats, candidates Janice DiFatta and Jacquie Richardson have raised the most money, with DiFatta’s campaign contributions topping $2,900. Richardson has raised about $2,100.

DiFatta has contributed nearly $1,800 of her own money, while Richardson has contributed $1,250 of hers.

Candidates Sharon Hushka, Glenn Woodbury and incumbent board president Carla Kurachi have raised less than $1,000, according to county records.

Of the three Moorpark school board candidates who had filed statements by late Wednesday, David Pollock had raised the most, about $2,300.