ELECTIONS / THOUSAND OAKS COUNCIL : Markey and Loh Considered Favorites as the Field Narrows : Politics: Results of the special contest are seen as crucial in breaking the deadlock between pro-business and slow-growth factions.

With potential candidates dropping out of the race, the field for Thousand Oaks’ June special election has narrowed to seven, with Compton homicide Detective Mike Markey and attorney Trudi Loh the most likely contenders for the empty seat on the council.

City Hall is closed today, although candidates making a last-minute dash to file can do so by appointment with the city clerk.

Loh, Markey, businessman Ramaul Rush, mobile carwash business owner Lance Winslow and engineer/real estate broker John Ellis had all filed by Thursday evening.

Thirteen residents took out papers in the last month, but by the time today’s final filing date came around, many had declined to enter the race--considered crucial in breaking the deadlock between pro-business and slow-growth factions on the council.

Some candidates were discouraged from entering the race for fear they would draw votes away from viable contenders. Others cited expenses and concerns that the campaign would end up ugly and divisive.

“I have the feeling that there is going to be a whole lot of negative campaigning,” said David Hare, who finished seventh in a field of 16 in the fall election and briefly considered running again this spring.

“I thought that I would run simply to see that the campaign stayed on track, but now I’m having thoughts about whether a single person as a candidate can do that.”

Instead Hare, an environmental services manager for the city of West Hollywood, is considering starting a community group that would monitor this election, setting up debates and forums for candidates.

In a sense, the group would act as a counter to Citizens to Save Our City, a pro-business group that spent $7,000 on negative advertising in the fall campaign. Its founder, Brian Collier, has said the group supports Markey and will spend thousands of dollars in advertising geared most likely against Loh.

“It would be almost a counter-group,” Hare said. “Except that in a true counter-group, citizens would say we are anti-business, and we are pro-business. We just want to put our government back to work.”

Loh, who narrowly lost a bid for county supervisor in November, said she would welcome a second citizens group into the political arena if it was aimed at trying to keep the campaign clean.

“If that’s the case, I think it is wonderful,” she said. “If it’s a group just to try and sling mud in the other direction, then ‘No thank you.’ ”

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In the eyes of many residents, the fall campaign was the ugliest in Thousand Oaks history, with 16 candidates fighting for three available seats. The fourth council seat became available when Schillo won the supervisor’s race, defeating Loh by barely 3%.

At that time, there was a passionate outcry from many residents for the council to appoint fourth-place finisher, Markey, to fill the empty seat. When the council deadlocked on the issue, city law mandated the special election.

Last week, Collier sent Planning Commissioner Frields a three-page letter suggesting that he pull out of the race. Frields is considered by many to be a potential competitor for the conservative vote with Markey. He said the letter he received from Collier was only part of his reason for opting out of the race.

“He happened to put his reasons in writing,” Frields said. “But he along with everybody else I talked to expressed the same sentiments. All of them felt and expressed the same concerns, that there were just too many people running.”

Frields said he also has personal reasons for withdrawing; his house was destroyed in the Northridge quake and he is still rebuilding. But he said he will run for Mayor Jaime Zukowski’s council seat in November, 1996.

Greg Cole, the dentist who spent nearly $40,000 in the fall campaign and finished eighth, also opted out of the race. He said he did not discuss the race with Collier or any representatives of Citizens to Save Our City.

“Nobody has talked to me,” Cole said. “I have not talked to any of the major players. This is a personal decision, not a political one.”

Eckbal Quidwai and hospital administrator Brent Lamb remained undecided Thursday. Quidwai said he believes potential candidates have been scared out of the race by political forces, including Collier’s group.

“It’s just basic common sense,” Quidwai said. “It’s not rocket science. With Frields the reasons are twofold, that Save Our City would take him to the mat and that the vote would be divided if he ran. That’s 95% of the reason.”

Winslow said he was glad to see people dropping out of the race.

“The competition is really tough,” he said. “If you don’t have good name recognition, you should get out.”

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Winslow finished ninth in the race, spending less than $1,000 in his campaign. This political go-round he says he will spend more, having already raised $4,000.

Ever-ebullient, the 30-year-old man said he has already knocked on 5,000 doors in the Westlake area and that he thinks he can beat both Loh and Markey.

“They might outspend me but they can’t outwalk me,” he said.