Election Required for Council Seat : Thousand Oaks: Deadlock on whether to appoint a fifth member forces the June special ballot vote.

Although residents spent nearly four hours trying to sway council members, the Thousand Oaks City Council remained deadlocked on whether to appoint a fifth council member, forcing a special election in June.

Council members Judy Lazar and Andy Fox voted late Tuesday to appoint fall election runner-up Mike Markey to the seat vacated by new county Supervisor Frank Schillo. But Mayor Jaime Zukowski and Councilwoman Elois Zeanah held out for a special election, even as some in the capacity crowd whispered threats of recall.

According to city codes, the 2-2 vote mandates a special election since today is the deadline for appointing a new council member. The council initially split on the issue last month. The election will cost about $100,000, officials estimate.

In all, 65 people took their turn at the podium Tuesday night, with the majority demanding that the council get on with city business by appointing Markey while about two dozen pleaded for a special election.

“I would feel cheated if an appointment were made,” Newbury Park resident Barbara Eisenthal said. “It’s obvious by the disagreement here tonight that this issue is best left to the voters.”

Some supporters of Zukowski and Zeanah have opposed appointment of Markey because they see him as a pro-business candidate who would often side with Lazar and Fox--to the detriment, they say, of the community’s natural environment. Markey has said he supports business but will vote independently on each issue.

As moderator of a hearing that ranged from eloquence to bursts of vitriol directed at council members, Zukowski repeatedly asked the audience to refrain from applauding and yelling at speakers as they returned to their seats.

But Zukowski lashed out herself after Jere Robbings, head of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers, told the council he had never seen a more blatant waste of taxpayers’ dollars than the special election.

“Thank you, Mr. Robbings,” Zukowski said with clear sarcasm as Robbings walked back to his seat. “I’m surprised that we did not see you here on some other issues in Thousand Oaks.”

He whirled to face her and asked what she had said, as members of the audience alternately hissed and cheered.

The debate grew ugly on several other occasions. Resident Susan Falwell, who helped gather nearly 700 signatures on a petition favoring Markey’s appointment, jolted the audience when she told council members they should make permanent provisions for future openings because “accidents do occur.”

Falwell later said she had not meant to sound threatening.

“Oh, heavens no,” she said. “After all, Andy is a firefighter. Things happen, but I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

The issue of how to fill the fifth seat monopolized two recent City Council meetings, with residents turning out by the dozen and many of them proclaiming they have been forced into political action for the first time.

“I could be out practicing my backhand or writing my novel,” Leonard Zerlin said. “But I feel this deserves some comment.”

In addition to the speakers, 89 people filled out statement cards, 21 in favor of the special election, 68 asking for Markey’s appointment.

Of those who favored appointing the Compton homicide detective, many said they were protesting the cost of the election, which is high because the council position will be the only issue on the June 6 ballot. If there were also countywide or statewide initiatives, the city’s cost would be closer to $10,000, according to county elections chief Bruce Bradley.

Speakers George (Sparky) Anderson, manager of baseball’s Detroit Tigers and a longtime Thousand Oaks resident, said he was ashamed of the city.

“If you had an opportunity to give the underprivileged $100,000 or use it for a special election, you would give it to the underprivileged,” Anderson scolded the council.

Others worried that important issues facing the council in upcoming months will not be settled, including a vote on the $100-million Seventh-day Adventist project in Newbury Park.

“If I allowed myself in my job to sit back for six months and not do anything, I’d be a little bit distressed,” Tracy Harder said.

But some said they would feel disenfranchised if they were not allowed to vote for the fifth council member.

“This is not the Miss America Pageant,” Jennifer Walsleben said. “This is not like where there is a runner-up to fulfill her duties if Miss America cannot.”

Those who supported appointing Markey argued that voters who cast ballots in November were well aware that the fourth-place finisher could be appointed should Schillo become a supervisor. But there was plenty of disagreement on that point as well.

“Saying that the people have already spoken is nonsense,” Dane Final said. “They voted for three people, not four.”

For the first time since the issue became controversial, Markey did not attend the council meeting. He said Wednesday he had decided to stay home rather than put his family through the lengthy ordeal of waiting once again.

Many audience members expressed fear that election-weary voters will stay away from the polls in June. But Bradley said he expects Thousand Oaks residents to turn out.

“I don’t think this is your typical special election,” Bradley said. “When you’re talking about a city seat and probably a field of a dozen candidates, I think you are going to have a 35% to 40% turnout, which is better than average.”

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FYI

Candidate filing for the June 6 special election for the vacant Thousand Oaks City Council seat opens Feb. 13 and closes March 10. There is no filing fee, but candidates must submit signatures of 20 residents eligible to vote in the election to qualify for the ballot. Voter registration closes May 8, election officials said.