THOUSAND OAKS : Car Dealers Donate $5,000 to Candidate

Car dealers at the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall, pouring still more money into a heated City Council race, donated $5,000 Tuesday to candidate Andy Fox.

Fox, a firefighter who has vowed to bolster public safety if elected, received several hundred dollars from individual car dealers earlier this fall. His latest donation, from the auto mall’s official dealer association, bumps his campaign treasury up to nearly $19,000.

Also Tuesday, former Councilman Lee Laxdal reported lending his campaign $1,200.

Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village auto dealers have contributed a total of $28,650 to six pro-business council candidates, financing television commercials, direct-mail flyers and newspaper advertisements.

Financial services manager Michael Friedman received the biggest boost from the car dealers--$13,000, donated early in the campaign. Fox tallied the second-highest contribution: a total of $5,450.

Other candidates backed by the auto mall dealers are incumbent Judy Lazar, dentist Greg Cole, retired businessman Marshall Dixon and police detective Michael Markey.

Dixon, Lazar, Fox and Markey have been endorsed by retiring Mayor Alex Fiore. Despite that endorsement, Fox has painted himself as an independent, not beholden to any special interest or political camp.

Neither Fox nor his campaign manager, Jill Lederer, returned phone calls Tuesday. Susan Meija, a spokeswoman for the auto dealers’ association, was not available for comment.