Crowded City Council Race Signals the End of an Era : Port Hueneme: Fourteen vie for 3 seats being vacated by veterans. They hold widely divergent views on building an oceanside RV park and the future of the police force.

For the past two decades, City Hall elections in Port Hueneme have been predictable. The same men ran for the same seats year after year. And voters in the tiny seaside town gladly put them back in office.

But this year, that pattern has changed dramatically. There are 14 candidates vying for three seats being vacated by longtime council members. And many of them hold widely divergent views about how the city should be run.

With a majority of the five-seat council up for grabs, the outcome of the election could chart the city’s course for years to come.

“It could change the complexion and vision of the city,” said Alvah Ingersoll, a candidate and longtime community activist. “It is certainly critical to the direction our city takes.”

In recent years the normally sleepy city has erupted in controversy over several issues. The most heated and prolonged debate has focused on a city proposal to add cash to the treasury by building a $2-million oceanfront recreational-vehicle park.

But other hot topics are swirling around this election, the candidates say. They include a proposal to disband the city’s Police Department to save money, a debate over taxes and arguments about whether City Manager Richard Velthoen wields too much power.

All of this is set against a sagging economy that has forced virtually every city in California, including Port Hueneme, to search for new ways to pay for municipal services.

So when Dorill B. Wright, with 24 years on the council, Ken Hess, a 12-year veteran, and James Daniels, an eight-year councilman, announced they would retire this year, candidates rushed forward to fill the open seats.

By far the most divisive issue is the proposed recreational-vehicle resort. City leaders in 1991 suggested building the park on a city-owned lot at the southern edge of Hueneme Beach as a way to generate $400,000 each year.

Citing environmental concerns, however, the California Coastal Commission earlier this year refused to approve the project. The issue has remained open because the City Council voted last week to resubmit the plan with modifications.

That decision angered residents opposed to the resort and unleashed a torrent of opinions among council candidates.

Six of the candidates--Anthony Volante, Terry Bruno, Reno Carter, Jim Gilmer, Frank McElfish and Valorie Morrison--support the idea of building an RV resort as a way to bring money to the cash-strapped city.

Another eight--Ingersoll, Robert Turner, Robert Stovall, David Goodman, Jon Sharkey, Ernest Brown, Billy Kimberling and Madeline White--say they are opposed to the concept for a variety of reasons.

Brown, 67, a certified public accountant who owns a condominium near the site of the proposed RV park, said he wants the land to remain undeveloped. Brown said he will improve management of the city’s $13-million budget so it remains within cost constraints.

Bruno, 45, said his top priority is stemming crime in the city. His goal is for Port Hueneme to have one of the lowest crime rates of cities in the county, Bruno said. The city had a lower crime rate than the county as a whole last year, but trailed the cities of Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

Because the city has had eight homicides during the past three years, many more than in previous years, the candidate said he will do whatever he can to keep the city’s Police Department intact. He also advocates forming Neighborhood Watch patrols, Bruno said.

Businessman Carter, 45, also hopes to keep the city’s Police Department running. The house painter has lived in Port Hueneme for 20 years and said he thinks city government has done a good job transforming the once-blighted oceanside area into a serene setting of condominiums, houses, a cultural center and a fishing pier.

He supports dismantling a beach assessment district that taxes homeowners who live nearest to the ocean, Carter said. He would rather see such a tax applied citywide, Carter said.

Gilmer said his focus is to provide more educational and recreational opportunities for the city’s lower-income children. The former director of the now-defunct Zoe Christian Center in Oxnard, Gilmer said he is concerned that teen-agers are graduating from high school without the skills needed to succeed in today’s society.

Gilmer, 40, who is African American, said he would also bring diversity to a council that has long been dominated by older white males. Another goal is to increase the city’s housing stock for low-income residents, Gilmer said.

Ingersoll said he would consider the option of contracting with the county for Sheriff’s Department services if the city is not capable of supporting its own Police Department. It was wrong for the council to recently approve a 4% utility tax to pay for police services after a public measure on the issue was shot down at the polls, Ingersoll said.

Ingersoll, 64, also is interested in reorganizing a city staff that has been decimated by cost cuts and retirements during the past three years. He would use money saved by contracting for police services to help hire new city staff, Ingersoll said.

Kimberling, 67, agrees that the RV park proposal should be dropped. If elected, his priority will be to “reunite the city,” which Kimberling believes has been torn apart by the RV controversy.

Kimberling supports contracting with the Sheriff’s Department and said he will work to “trim the fat” from city budgets instead of imposing new taxes.

McElfish said he wants to protect city revenues from any further invasion by the state. The 46-year-old works for Symtech in Camarillo, which sells engineering services to defense-related industries.

Besides protecting revenues, McElfish wants to beef up the city’s General Fund by finding entrepreneurial ways for the city to make money. The RV park is one idea that has merit, he said.

Morrison said her main objective is to keep the local Police Department running. She supports continuing the utility tax to pay for police until another venture brings in cash, Morrison said.

The 53-year-old owner of a bait and tackle shop at the foot of Port Hueneme Pier, Morrison said she also wants to continue assessment districts that pay for maintenance of city parks and landscaping.

White, a 59-year-old tax preparer, thinks the RV issue should be put to rest. A city with 22,000 residents should not waste so much time, money and effort on a recreational project, White said.

The RV park controversy has factionalized the city and Velthoen must take much of the blame, White said. If elected, she will examine existing assessment districts and the utility tax to see if the city can balance its budget without them, White said.

Volante, 59, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, said he wants to increase city revenues by attracting more tourists and businesses to Port Hueneme.

He said he will also work closely with the chamber of commerce, the port district and Port Hueneme naval base to increase commercial opportunities within the city. Another goal is to retain the city’s police force, Volante said.

Turner, 52, a dentist, said his main goal is to attract more small businesses, such as telecommunications firms, to Port Hueneme. To increases sales tax revenues, he would lobby for funds to provide freeway access to Port Hueneme through the Rice Road corridor, Turner said.

Turner, a former commissioner on the Port of Hueneme port district, said he also would work to improve relations between city and port officials. He is opposed to the RV park because he thinks it would be a poor investment for the city.

Stovall supports keeping the Police Department and would retain the utility tax to pay for it. The 39-year-old pipefitter said he also wants to attract more businesses to Port Hueneme as a way to increase tourism and bolster sales tax revenues.

He would not support the RV resort under any circumstance, Stovall said, because he does not believe it will solve the city’s funding problems. He wants to work closely with a county committee that is lobbying Washington, D.C., to keep the local naval bases open, Stovall said.

Goodman, a 33-year-old beekeeper, said he decided to run for office because he was concerned about the city’s dogged determination to pursue the RV resort in the face of heated opposition.

Goodman wants to form a task force of city leaders and residents to investigate other ways to generate revenue for the city. He is opposed to the beach assessment district, but thinks the utility tax is necessary to retain the city’s Police Department.

The former probation officer also wants to curtail gang and graffiti problems, and advocates requiring parents of convicted taggers to pay for graffiti cleanup.

Sharkey, 45, said he supports building a city-owned reverse-osmosis desalination plant because it could raise cash for the city. The entertainment-industry technician said charging other communities for use of the water-treatment plant may allow the city to eventually phase out the utility tax.

Sharkey favors signing a joint-powers agreement with the city of Oxnard for police services as a way to save on costs. And he wants to draw more commercial investment to build a stronger local economy.

Kay Saillant is a correspondent and Christina Lima is a staff writer.