Ex-Sheriff’s Deputy Joins Assembly Race

A retired Ventura County sheriff’s deputy has joined a crowded race of Republican candidates vying for a state Assembly seat representing Simi Valley and Fillmore.

Robert C. Hamlin, 41, of Castaic is the sixth candidate seeking the GOP nomination for the 38th Assembly District seat being vacated by Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills), who will not seek reelection because of legislative term limits. The district also includes portions of the northwestern San Fernando Valley.

If elected, Hamlin said he would push to abolish the two-house Legislature in favor of one governing body. He also proposes to do away with the jury system by creating a three-member judges panel to hear criminal cases.

Hamlin, a member of the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee, ran unsuccessfully for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973 at the age of 18.

Although acknowledging that he has little name recognition or money to boost his Assembly campaign, Hamlin said he is confident about his candidacy.

Other Republican candidates who have entered the 1996 Assembly race are Bob Larkin, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee; Steve Frank, a government affairs consultant; Peggy Freeman, a former director of a health and social-service center; Ross Hopkins, a government affairs consultant; and Scott Wilk, Boland’s chief of staff.